I don’t want to be THAT guy, but it seems like the refs have been holding the Pats to a much higher standard this season than their opponents? Gronk gets mugged on every play with no call, but if a NE received breathes on a guy it’s offensive PI.
I've felt that way for years. Gronk plays by different rules than everyone else because he's naturally better. On half of his receptions, he's being interfered with, but half the time he works through contact and keeps driving, they flag him for a push-off.
It's like how the Pats somehow got this reputation for running pick routes in 2011/2012, so the league decided to crack down on them and flag us mercilessly, yet they are victimized by pick routes by other teams all the time. You could make the (admittedly tenuous) argument that it may have cost us an AFC title the year Welker cheapshotted Talib on one early in that playoff game.