As Rob Gronkowski was being carted off the field with what at the time appeared to be a serious knee injury in Denver Sunday night, most of the Patriots fans you know were probably saying the same thing. As much as that fan base wanted an undefeated season after the heartbreak of 2007 and the Deflategate drama of the spring and summer, in that moment, they would have happily traded a regular-season loss to the Broncos for a healthy Gronk in the playoffs. Hours later, after losing to Denver in overtime and getting the postgame news that Gronkowski appears to have avoided a serious injury and should return this season, they can realize how their strange wish was right.

If there were a team who should care the leastbackups against arguably the best duo of cornerbacks in football, meanwhile, New England's solution was to turn to Gronkowski as a joker and split him out wide. It's how the Patriots got their first touchdown, when Gronkowski was split out against Darian Stewart and beat him badly after the catch on a stick route. Just before Gronkowski's injury, the Patriots split him out wide again against Stewart, who stayed 10 yards off the line of scrimmage. The Pats turned to the slant-flat route combination they often run and picked up what looked like a critical first down to Gronk with 3:46 to go.

A healthy Rob Gronkowski is nice in December, but last night was a reminder that January is what matters. Justin Edmonds/Getty Images

On the next play, Stewart