One month, one Patriots mission: Get healthy.

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Monday morning was a rough one in New England. First of all it was freezing cold, and the first day back in the real world after a big fat Thanksgiving holiday. Even worse, the Patriots suffered a brutal overtime loss the night before in Denver, ending their undefeated season and leaving them in a fight for the AFC’s top seed. On top of that, the loss was heavily influenced by bad officiating, which is pretty standard these days in Roger Goodell’s LEAGUE OF INTEGRITY. There was the (latest) crucial pass interference call on Rob Gronkowski, and the defensive holding on Patrick Chung, and that weird excess timeout that wasn’t really a timeout and (even if it was called correctly) hurt the Patriots more than it did Denver.

Finally, there were the injuries.

More injuries.

First, Dont’a Hightower. Then, everyone’s worst nightmare: Rob Gronkowski taking a violent hit to his knees and subsequently flailing around in the snow like it was charged with an electric current. As Gronk was carted off the field, the doom began to fester, and by the time CJ Anderson hit stride on his game-winning touchdown, depression was in full bloom. Even as early reports suggested that Gronk’s injury might not be THAT bad, it was easy to be skeptical. After all most of those reports were from ESPN, and for all we knew they were just having fun; like maybe Goodell sent an aggressive postgame text to John Skipper: “TOY WITH THEIR EMOTIONS! MAKE THEM BELIEVE IT WILL BE OK! THEN CUT THEM DOWN LIKE WE DID TO GRONK MUAHAHAHAHA!” Regardless when’s the last time you saw a guy take a hit like to the knee, get carted off the field and NOT be lost for the season?

So yeah. Tie it all together — the cold reality, the lack of sleep, the tortuous loss, the horrible officiating and the devastating injuries — and Monday morning sure was a Monday morning. One of those days when you take your first sip of coffee and spill the whole thing down your shirt.

But again, that was Monday.

Here on Tuesday afternoon the hangover has subsided and there’s a new lease on life. Hell, we even started a new month. Suddenly the pressure and distraction of the perfect season is gone and it’s strangely liberating. The organization once again has a singular focus. Somehow Gronk really is OK, or will be by the time the Pats need him. Same goes for Hightower and Danny Amendola and Julian Edelman and hopefully, who knows, maybe even Jamie Collins. With that we no longer have to look back on that Broncos game as a devastating, season-altering loss, but instead an uplifting reminder of what this team is made of and capable of. We can acknowledge without regret that the Patriots went into Denver in prime time, in the snow, against the cold and the altitude and the best defense in the league; that they were without their two best linebackers, three best receivers and most dynamic backfield weapon; that they were on the receiving end of most of the bad bounces and almost all the bad calls; that quite literally everything that could have gone wrong went wrong, and all things considered they shouldn’t have had a shot.

But they did.

On the power of All-World linebacker Jonathan Freeny and future Hall of Fame receiver Brandon Bolden the Pats gave Denver everything they could handle — and really, honestly, how did that even happen?

Just know that it happened.

And just know that between now and a potential trip to the Super Bowl, the Patriots will never be in a tougher spot than the one they were in on Sunday night. And they almost overcame it at their worst. So now as we turn the page to December and New England’s goals for the home stretch, there’s only one that really matters.

Health.

That’s it.

And in turn, patience. That means not rushing Gronk back. Let him sit until the postseason if he needs to. The same goes for every critical player battling a somewhat significant injury. That means Amendola, Hightower, Collins and obviously Edelman. I’d even sit Brady for a few games. He doesn’t have to be out there fine-tuning his chemistry with Keshawn Martin and Asante Cleveland, getting violently knocked on his ass time after time. If he’s not ultimately throwing to Edelman and Gronk, it probably won’t matter anyway. And the worst thing would be for those two to get back just in time for Tom to break down or go down. Honestly, if Brady would allow it, let Jimmy Garoppolo get a little December experience. Give Brady a week or two to rest his bones and stay warm. To show Gisele that he’s taking care of his body so he won’t have to hear: “Why are you still playing football?! Why are you doing this to yourself?!” in the middle of the playoffs. And don’t give me the rust argument, because with this core that doesn’t exist. Back in September the Patriots played their first real football game in SEVEN months. Brady went 25-32 for 288 yards, four touchdowns and zero interceptions. Edelman caught 11 balls on 12 targets. Gronk caught three touchdowns. They can manage a few weeks off. They can manage anything. They can manage a win in Denver or a win in Cincinnati. They can beat anyone anywhere .

They just need to be them.

 
Follow me on Twitter: @rich_levine

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