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01.22.18

Danny 'Playoff' Amendola Saves the Day, Seals the Patriots' Spot in Super Bowl LII

Posted by: Gronkowski

Pack your bags kids, we’re going to Minneapolis!

The Patriots’ latest rally cry “Not Done!” echoed through Gillette Stadium on Sunday as Tom Brady did the seemingly impossible – led his team to a spot in a sixth Super Bowl.

The Patriots were down 14-3 to the Jacksonville Jaguars in the second quarter when Gronk got taken out with a concussion following a helmet-to-helmet hit from Barry Church.

As fans’ hearts skipped a beat, especially for the Gronk Nation crew scattered around the stadium, Rob was taken off the field for the obligatory concussion protocol.

Keeping with Bill Belichick’s philosophy of “next man up,” it was Danny “All Day” Amendola who stepped up to the plate and lit it on fire in the fourth quarter.

‘Dola made five of his seven receptions in the fourth quarter, including two touchdowns to lift the Patriots to a 24-20. 

That out-of-this-world performance earned the Patriots a spot in Super Bowl LII – and Danny a massive hug from Robert Kraft after the game. (And from gorgeous model girlfriend Olivia Culpo, too, but that was a given). 

As ESPN’s Rich Cimini put it: “The diminutive wide receiver did everything except serve hors d'oeuvres in owner Robert Kraft's suite.”

He even got himself a special dictionary definition from Belichick. “Danny's such a good football player, when you look up 'good football player' in the dictionary, his picture is right there beside it,” he said after the game, according to ESPN. 

At 5-foot-11, ‘Dola is just another great example of what Belichick and co. can do with a speedy little receiver – following in the footsteps of Wes Welker, BFF Julian Edelman, and preceding Dion Lewis.

There were so many “WTF?!?” plays coming from Number 80 that they were hard to keep up with, but our favorite was a dive followed by a backwards-tumbling catch into the end zone with just 2:48 left on the clock. And then the crowd went WILD!

“Without that, we don't win. It was an incredible play,” Brady simply said afterwards.

In fact, PFF analyst Steve Palazzolo pointed out that the Jags had faced almost the exact same play from ‘Dola in Week 3 of the 2015 season. Oops.

With another consecutive AFC Championship in the books and the Jags sent back to Jacksonville with their tails between their legs, all that was left was the trophy presentation, a slew of confetti, an explosion of fireworks – and very, very happy Brady taking to the podium.

Oh, and there was a lot of popcorn thrown.

We don't know why, we don't ask questions, we just enjoy the show. But we seriously need to make the Popcorn Challenge a thing by Super Bowl weekend.

 

 

 

 

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