Rob Gronkowski put together a legendary playing career during his time in the NFL and has now pivoted to life as an analyst, making appearances on quite a few sports talk shows to give his opinions on the day’s topics. On Wednesday, the former star tight end made his pick for this week’s AFC Championship Game clear.
Rob Gronkowski Makes AFC Championship Pick
Gronkowski made his regular Wednesday appearance on the “Up & Adams Show” for the day’s show again this week, joining host Kay Adams to talk NFL ahead of this weekend’s conference title games.
Among the topics they discussed was who will win the AFC Championship Game between the Baltimore Ravens and Kansas City Chiefs. Gronkowski made it clear which team he’s putting his faith in to get the job done and reach Super Bowl 58.
“I just think the Baltimore Ravens are too much of a consistent team,” Gronkowski said.
“They have too much firepower on the offensive side of the ball and defensive side of the ball. I just can’t see the Baltimore Ravens losing this game. I can see the Kansas City Chiefs giving them a for surefire battle, but I just don’t see the Ravens losing. They have beaten every winning team they’ve played by like two touchdowns.”
Baltimore has indeed been the league’s top performing team throughout the season.
The Ravens wrapped up the regular season with the league’s best record at 13-4 and had the AFC’s No. 1 seed locked up prior to the final week, allowing them to rest players and take an inconsequential loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
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Even still, Baltimore has put together an impressive résumé. They boast the league’s best point differential at a whopping +203 points behind a stout defense that allowed a league-low 280 points on the year.
That unit far outpaced the rest of the league in defense-adjusted value over average (DVOA) at 45.5%, well ahead of any competitors other than the San Francisco 49ers’ mark of 39.4%.
Combining that unit with an explosive offense has proved to be a strong recipe for the Ravens’ success.
Superstar quarterback Lamar Jackson has posted one of the best years of his career as one of the front-runners for the league’s MVP award, while running back Gus Edwards, wide receiver Zay Flowers, and tight end Mark Andrews have helped make it all go around him, among several lethal playmakers.
Whether that unit proves capable of knocking Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs out of the playoffs in their quest to defend last year’s Super Bowl title remains to be seen.
Baltimore has certainly shown enough, though, to win over Gronkowski.
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