It was not the start the Denver Broncos hoped for at all. After receiving the opening kickoff, Denver went three-and-out against a stout Patriots defense.
A bad punt by Britton Colquitt gave Tom Brady the ball on the wrong side of the 50-yard line and proceeded to take his team 47 yards in just four plays, including a 23-yard Rob Gronkowski touchdown.
Both Darian Stewart and T.J. Ward had chances to stop Gronk, but both missed on tackles and the tight end gave the Patriots an early lead.
Edelman out.
Amendola out.Just throw it to Gronk and watch him do Gronk things.
Touchdown. #GronkSpike #NEvsDEN https://t.co/Q8Gn9Er9kV— NFL (@NFL) November 30, 2015
Here’s what the MHS team and our friends in the Denver media had to say about the opening possessions for each team…
Three-and-out. Ninkovich blowing past Schofield on 1st down and the 3rd-down incompletion to Caldwell the culprits.
— Andrew Mason (@MaseDenver) November 30, 2015
Ugly punt. New England will start in Denver's side of the field.
— MileHighReport (@MileHighReport) November 30, 2015
Well, that's a dangerous way to start. Giving Brady the ball, for the first drive, in Denver territory? Uh…
— Les Shapiro (@LesShapiro) November 30, 2015
The best tight end in the NFL scores the first points in #NEvs DEN. GRONK! missed tackles Stewart/Ward. 23 yd TD. 7-0 Pats.
— Lionel Bienvenu (@lionelbienvenu) November 30, 2015
And that's exactly what you can't do. Miss tackles on their best players. Sad
— Darren McKee (@DMacSportsCO) November 30, 2015
Adding insult to injury on the touchdown? Gronk passed a Broncos great…
Rob Gronkowski just passed Shannon Sharpe on the all time TDs list. He now has more TDs than any TE currently in the Hall of Fame.
— Frank Schwab (@YahooSchwab) November 30, 2015