After twenty seasons of following the Patriots, I finally made it to a home game. I had traveled the Atlantic to see the team play in England, but until today I had never seen them play in New England. I had initially planned on heading to Foxboro earlier in the season when the weather was nicer, but the ridiculous prices on Stubhub lead me to a December matchup against Miami. Little did I know back then that this would be a “hat and t-shirt” game, a huge dose of vengeance for the team’s Week 1 loss, and the game in which Stephen Gostkowski set the franchise record for points scored. Not too shabby of a game, if I do say so myself.
As has been the case in the past when I’ve attended a game live, I am only going to do the risers this week. When you’re watching from the stands, it’s easy to tell who makes good plays. Figuring out who made mistakes is a little more difficult, particularly when you’re in Row 25 of the 300 level.
Risers:
Jamie Collins (LB) – Had a huge start to the game, blocking a Miami field goal that was returned for a touchdown by Kyle Arrington.
Duron Harmon (S) – He had a huge interception with a 60 yard-return to set up New England’s second touchdown of the day.
Rob Gronkowski (TE) – Once Tom Brady started finding Gronk, the Patriots offense took off and never looked back. He had a huge statement catch to start the 3rd quarter and managed to rack up another touchdown reception, bringing his season total to 11.
Jonas Gray (RB) – When opportunity struck for Jonas Gray to get out of Belichick’s dog house, he responded. He came up big in the second half averaging 5.6 yards per carry.
Stephen Gostkowski (K) – The sure-footed “Ghost” became the all-time leading scorer in Patriots history, notching his 1,165th pointh this afternoon and surpassing Adam Vinatieri’s 1,158.
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