against the league's best pass defense. That speaks to the lack of faith Belichick and McDaniels had in their running game by the end of a contest where the Pats finished with just 39 rushing yards.

As much as a serious Gronkowski injury would hurt the Patriots in the weeks to come, though, I don't know that his absence cost New England the game Sunday, especially given that Gronk was available for the first 57 minutes or so of the contest.

The other key injury

The more meaningful injury for the Patriots -- at least Sunday -- was the knee injury which took linebacker Dont'a Hightower out of the game during the second quarter. Hightower, who has been having a Pro Bowl-caliber season for the Patriots, already was assuming a biggerrole in the defense with Jamie Collins sidelined by a mysterious illness, one which Patriots ownership took great liberties to point out was unrelated to the cleanliness of New England's practice facilities, quashing any rumors that Collins might have contracted a staph infection.

It's always tenuous to link one defensive player's absence to a dramatic shift in team performance, but the New England run defense collapsed once Hightower came out of the lineup. As masslive.com's Kevin Duffy noted, the Broncos ran the ball 15 times for a total of just 43 yards with Hightower in the lineup. After Hightower left, Denver ran the ball 17 times for a whopping 136 yards, averaging an even 8 yards per carry. Three of Denver's four touchdowns came on the ground, including a