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Patriots' Rob Gronkowski: We made Tom Brady look like himself again

New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski said the team succeeded in his goal of making Tom Brady look like himself during Sunday night's 43-17 win over the Cincinnati Bengals. Brady was heavily scrutinized after last Monday's 41-14 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs when he completed just 14 of 23 passes for 159 yards and two interceptions.
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New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski said the team made Tom Brady look like himself during Sunday night's 43-17 win over the Cincinnati Bengals, Boston.com reports.

Brady was heavily scrutinized after last Monday's 41-14 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs when he completed just 14 of 23 passes for 159 yards and two interceptions. His play improved against the Bengals, as he threw for 292 yards and two touchdowns on 23 of 35 passing.

Gronkowski, who had season-bests of six catches and 100 receiving yards with a touchdown, said he entered the game focused on making Brady look good.

"I told my brother before I came to the game, 'I'm gonna make 12 look like Tom Brady again, baby,'" Gronkowski said. "And I went out there with my teammates and we made Tom Brady look like Tom Brady after you guys were criticizing him all week. The fans, everything. And it feels so good and he's such a leader and he went over 50,000 yards today. He's an unbelievable player and I'm so glad to play with him."

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In five games this season, Brady has completed 60.5 percent of his passes for 1,083 yards, six touchdowns and two interceptions. He has also fumbled five times after having just seven total fumbles the last two seasons.

On Sunday, it was reported that tension between Brady and the Patriots over personnel decisions could lead to Brady finishing his career with a different team.

The Patriots (3-2) are tied with the Buffalo Bills for first place in the AFC East. New England and Buffalo play on Sunday.

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- Paul Palladino