After the New England Patriots fell 20-18 to the Arizona Cardinals, Gronkowski did not mince words.
FOXBOROUGH -- Rob Gronkowski caught just one pass during the first half Sunday and had a holding penalty that nullified what likely would have been a game-winning touchdown.
After the New England Patriots fell 20-18 to the Arizona Cardinals, Gronkowski did not mince words.
"We were playing awful. I was playing awful," said the tight end, who finished with a respectable six catches for 75 yards and one touchdown thanks to five receptions in the fourth quarter. "I have to go out there, play better, play faster, play stronger. And not just the fourth quarter. Just staying in the game's not good enough. You have to be out there playing hard."
Gronkowski had two penalties on New England's final drive. The first was a holding that canceled out Danny Woodhead's 30-yard touchdown dash with 0:52 left. The second was a false start that pushed the Patriots from the 18-yard line to the 23.
When Bill Belichick decided to run down the clock for a Stephen Gostkowski field goal rather than go for the end zone, Gronkowski's second penalty ultimately forced Gostkowski to kick the potential game-winner (which he missed) from 42 yards rather than 37.
The tight end called his penalties "obviously frustrating," but noted that he didn't think the holding call should have been whistled.
"I felt like it was a clean block," Gronkowski said. "My hands were right inside, but I have to look at the film."
Despite hauling in the Patriots' lone touchdown to pull his team within 20-18 with two minutes left, Gronkowski thought the loss might have been his fault.
"Stephen (Gostkowski) does a great job. He kicked four great field goals to keep him in the game. The loss is not on him," said the tight end. "The loss could be on me. I got that penalty at the end holding the guy. And you can't have things like that happen. It's definitely not on Stephen. Great kicker and great player."