Super Bowl 52 could come down to which of these terrific tight ends shines brighter.The two had similar statistics and impact on their team’s fortunes this season.Gronkowski led the New England Patriots with 69 catches for 1,084 yards and eight touchdowns.Ertz led the Philadelphia Eagles with 74 catches for 824 yards and eight TDs – double his previous career best.Ertz also has 11 grabs for 125 yards in the playoffs and Gronkowski has seven catches for 102 yards and a touchdown in the playoffs despite missing most of
the AFC championship against Jacksonville after taking a helmet-to-helmet hit
from Barry Church before halftime.That led to concerns Gronkowski might miss his second straight Super Bowl. He was sidelined for last year’s 34-28 overtime win against Atlanta after
undergoing back surgery.Gronk, however, returned to practice Thursday and said he is ”ready to roll” after clearing the concussion protocol.He said he never doubted he’d get to play Sunday.”There was no reason to get frustrated,” Gronkowski said. ”We had that extra week, which was awesome.”The return of the All-Pro tight end gives Tom Brady another key option against a punishing Eagles defense that ranked fourth in the league.”He’s a dynamic player. He means a ton to our offense. He really has since he got to our team. It’s always great when he’s out there,” Brady said.”I’ve played with him a long time, I’ve thrown him a lot of footballs. He knows exactly what to do Jessie Bates III Youth Jersey , he knows where to expect the ball, when to expect it. He’s just a tremendous player for our team.”Ertz is just as important to Nick Foles and the Eagles’ offense.The fifth-year pro made his first Pro Bowl this season, leading all NFC tight ends in receptions. He added eight catches for 93 yards in the NFC championship
game against Minnesota.Despite his breakout season and postseason, Ertz knows he won’t be the best tight end on the field Sunday. Gronkowski led all NFL tight ends in receiving
yards for the fourth time.Gronk is the gold standard.”He’s a beast after the catch, I think that kind of separates him from all the other tight ends,” Ertz said. ”And he’s also able to be open even when he’s
not open because he’s got such a big frame and extremely good ball skills. And
obviously Tom Brady is a phenomenal quarterback, too, but even without Tom, I
think he would still be doing the same type of things regardless of where he
was.”Ertz knows the numbers off the top of his head Josh Jackson Youth Jersey , too.”He has all the (single season) tight end records in the league,” Ertz said. He’s got the yards – 1,327 – and he’s got the touchdowns – 17 – he’s just a
phenomenal player.”With a pair of Super Bowl rings.That’s what Ertz really covets, a world championship like the one his wife won in 2015 as a midfielder for the World Cup-winning U.S. national soccer
team.”Julie won a World Cup two years ago,” Ertz said, ”so I need to hold up my end of the bargain.”The ”It” couple in the NFL was married last March after a romance that started when Julie, then Julie Johnston, was an emerging soccer star at Santa
Clara and Zach was playing at Stanford.The two were apart when the Eagles clinched their spot in the Super Bowl with a 38-7 victory over the Minnesota Vikings. Julie was in San Diego for a national
team match against Denmark. She was among the players who scored in the 5-1
victory.Afterward, when she was told Zach was going to the Super Bowl Authentic A.J. Green Jersey , she burst into tears .”Zach knew I was there obviously in spirit and I was praying for him and I was excited for him and cheering him from miles away,” she said.”It’s a part of our job and we sacrifice a lot, and time’s the biggest thing. But to find out that they are going to the Super Bowl was amazing, exciting,
emotional. It’s really cool to see your loved one’s hard work pay off.”Ertz said it was hard for him watching other players’ celebrate with their wives ”but seeing that video kind of showed me that she was struggling not being
there, too.”And it was extremely difficult for us not being together like it is anytime we’re not together. But she’s here now, I’m lucky she’s here. I’m blessed that
she’s here and I’m excited hopefully to be able to experience that again.”—??The Baltimore Ravens were ousted from the playoff hunt in stunning fashion Sunday when Andy Dalton threw a 49-yard touchdown pass to Tyler Boyd with 44
seconds, giving the Cincinnati Bengals a 31-27 victory.Needing a win to advance
to the postseason, Baltimore (9-7) rallied from a 14-point deficit to take its
first lead with 8:48 left. But Dalton put together a magnificent 90-yard drive
in the closing minutes before hitting Boyd over the middle on a fourth-and-12
play.Boyd avoided a tackle by Maurice Canady and raced to the end zone to give
Cincinnati (7-9) the victory in what might have been its final game under coach
Marvin Lewis.Baltimore entered knowing it could have also gotten into the
postseason if either Tennessee or Buffalo tied or lost. Both those teams
won Cheap Quenton Nelson Jersey , leaving the Ravens with no margin for error on a frigid and windy day.After getting off to a horrid start, the Ravens appeared in
position to end their two-year hiatus from the postseason. Plenty of players
stepped up in their time of need: Chris Moore had a pivotal kickoff return, Alex
Collins delivered a huge fourth-down touchdown run and quarterback Joe Flacco
bounced back from a horrible 4-for-18 start.Flacco’s 6-yard touchdown pass to
Mike Wallace made it 27-24, but all of that was rendered meaningless after
Dalton put an appropriate finish on a game filled with huge plays.Dalton also
threw a pair of touchdown passes to Tyler Kroft.The Ravens were down 17-3 late
in the first half when Moore rambled 87 yards with a kickoff before being
stopped near the left sideline with 8 seconds left. He finished what he started
on the next play, catching a 6-yard touchdown pass.Thus, Baltimore trailed by
only 17-10 at the break despite a 268-61 deficit in yardage and 16-2 disparity
in first downs.The Ravens took that momentum into the third quarter, moving
deftly downfield before Moore juggled a pass that ended up in the hands of
Cincinnati’s Darqueze Dennard, who sprinted down the left sideline 89 yards for
a touchdown.Trailing again by two TDs, Baltimore faced a fourth-and-3 from the
Cincinnati 17. Collins took a pitchout designed to go around left end Minkah Fitzpatrick Dolphins Jersey , reversed his field and ran around a block by Flacco to get into the right corner of the end zone.That set the stage
for a tense fourth quarter in a game Cincinnati dominated at the outset.The
Bengals moved 78 yards on eight plays following the opening kickoff and took a
7-0 lead on a 1-yard touchdown pass from Dalton to Kroft. That represented more
points than Cincinnati scored in the first game between the teams, a 20-0
Baltimore victory in the season opener.The Ravens’ first five possessions
produced several dropped passes, one first down and five punts.CHILLIN’ TO THE
MAXXRavens tight end Maxx Williams went through preliminary warmups without a
shirt, even though the temperature was 19 degrees. He did, however, wear a knit
hat and sweat pants.INJURY UPDATEBengals: LB Jordan Evans (head, shoulder) left
in the third quarter. … WR Josh Malone (ankle) did not play in the second half.
… S Shawn Williams (back) left in the third quarter.Ravens: Moore sustained a
concussion in the third quarter and did not return. … WR Jeremy Maclin (knee)
was inactive for a second straight week. … Ravens DB Anthony Levine (foot) left
in the second quarter..
