The Denver Broncos end the undefeated season Tom Brady & the New England Patriots were having, with meme makers focusing on Rob Gronkowski getting injured, Patriots fans whining about referees and Brock Osweiler rising to the occasion instead of Peyton Manning.
But while it is fun calling Patriots fans whiners, they have a point about officials having a huge impact on this game. They also have a point about injuries. But they never made those points when referees made mistakes in their favor. And the Broncos have just an impressive injury list as they do.
Osweiler isn’t a great quarterback, but he might be the QB the Broncos need right now more than anything. He allows a running game to happen, and works in Gary Kubiak’s offensive system, instead of Manning forcing something the Broncos aren’t made for, while not being good enough to pull if off anymore.
The Patriots will be fine, at least in the regular season, although they might end up losing the #1 seed in the AFC if Gronkowski doesn’t come back pretty soon. In the playoffs? A long injury list on both ends of the ball, something every team has this season, won’t make it any easier.
