But against the Bears on Oct. 26, the tight end showed once and for all that he’s back, mentally and physically.

After some understandable early-season struggles, Rob Gronkowski was starting to return to form, which for him is part lumbering ballerina, part runaway freight train, and at times man among boys.

FOXBOROUGH — It was the play so many of us were waiting to see.

Running a crossing route, Gronkowski caught a slightly low pass from Tom Brady and continued to run toward the sideline. But then he broke upfield, swatting safety Ryan Mundy out of the way, and cut back toward the middle of the field.


Rookie Al Louis-Jean gave chase, and as a last resort, he dived at Gronkowski to try to prevent him from crossing the goal line. Gronkowski just pulled him into the end zone with him.

It wasn’t quite the catch-and-run Gronkowski had against Washington in 2011, when he dragged defenders with him like fish in a trawler’s net, but it was him, in all his smashing and dashing glory.

A week later against Denver, Gronkowski outdid himself, making a one-handed, falling-backward, high-degree-of-difficulty catch — done with his heavily armored left arm.

“One of the best catches I’ve ever seen,” Brady said.

At his best, Gronkowski is arguably the toughest cover in the NFL, as tough for defenses to stop as it is for offenses to slow the Texans’ J.J. Watt. The fifth-year player is too big for cornerbacks and most safeties to take down, too fast for linebackers to keep up with.

And after seven surgeries in less than two years, he is back. And maybe better.

The improved play of the line has gotten a lot of credit, and deservedly so, for the Patriots’ offense coming back to life.

But Gronkowski returning to form has as much to do with the unit’s revitalization, if not more. Brady’s completion percentage has gone up, the Patriots are sustaining drives and getting into the red zone with greater frequency, and as a result are scoring more points.


As the Patriots went 2-2 to start the season, Gronkowski played, though sparingly at first. As he continued to rehab from the torn anterior cruciate ligament suffered last December, he hadn’t played in any preseason games, and his participation in padded practices was limited.

Knowing he needed Gronkowski involved to get the offense moving, Brady forced the ball to him. In the season opener, Brady targeted Gronkowski 11 times, but he only had four catches. And Brady completed barely 50 percent of his passes that day.

Over the first month of the season, Gronkowski was targeted 26 times, with only 13 receptions, a 50 percent catch rate. In the five games since, Gronkowski has been targeted 49 times, with 36 receptions, catching nearly three-quarters of the passes thrown his way. He was a perfect 9 for 9 against the Bears, and 9 for 10 against the Broncos.

Brady’s completion percentage has gone up, but more importantly, New England is getting into the red zone far more frequently: After advancing inside the 20 just 11 times over the first four games, scoring six touchdowns, over the last five games it has made 25 red-zone trips, with 15 touchdowns.

“He’s a big part of what we do and a big part of our pass game,” Brady said. “He’s a factor in all those situations that we talk about, whether that’s third down, red area, those real critical down and distances. I think he’s a major factor.


“He’s just tough to stop. So if they put extra guys to stop him, then it really gives other guys an opportunity, maybe more opportunity than they would typically get. I think when Gronk does well, it really benefits all the other pass catchers, too. He’s just a great player.”

Though Gronkowski didn’t get into the end zone on his one-handed grab against the Broncos, Brady went back to him on the next snap, and the play illustrated how connected they are.

“There was a play in the game where Gronk caught that little slant for the touchdown against Von Miller, which was really cool when you look at it, because they break the huddle, you look, and Gronkowski is at the in-line tight end position,” Ron Jaworski said on ESPN Radio this past week. “All of a sudden, as they’re walking toward the line of scrimmage, you see Tom kind of nod his head a little bit, and Gronk moves outside.

“When Gronk sets up in his route outside, he’s got Von Miller on him. Brady looks out there again, gives him a little head nod once again. So they have this great non-verbal communication of what they’re going to do, and it’s just great to see that type of chemistry.”

Brady mentioned Gronkowski’s improved understanding of the game after the win over Denver, as well as on Wednesday during his bye week news conference.


“It’s just man awareness, zone awareness. It’s body positioning. It’s timing and the anticipation of the ball,” Brady said. “I think when you’ve spent as much time as we have practicing together and you talk about corrections, adjustments — usually when you correct something, hopefully you don’t have to correct it again.”

Jaworski noted that for whatever reason, defenders are not even trying to slow Gronkowski or knock him off his route. He counted that of Gronkowski’s 49 catches, only six times did a defender try to re-route him at the line of scrimmage.

When defenses allow Gronkowski to run free, they’re making their job even more difficult. But Brady believes Gronkowski’s size — he’s 6 feet 6 inches and 270 pounds — gives him both a physical and mental advantage.

“If he can get himself in the right position and get the defender where he wants him in the right place in the route, the defender can’t do anything about it. And I think they know that, too, so then they panic,” Brady said. “And when they panic, it’s even more of an advantage to the offense. Sometimes when you get a bigger receiver on the perimeter and a smaller [defensive back] is matched up on him, the mind-set of the DB might even change because they think, ‘Oh, my God, this guy is so much bigger and taller and stronger and what am I going to do?’ And then they’re already beat sometimes before the ball is snapped.


“That’s a good mind-set for an offensive player when he’s making those plays and the defenders are now all of a sudden defensive before the ball is even snapped. Not only are they at a physical disadvantage, they become at a mental disadvantage in the confidence in their ability to make a play. That plays into it, too.”

Cornerback Darrelle Revis, who worked one-on-one with Gronkowski in training camp as he ran routes and caught passes from Brady, has said he’s glad to be Gronkowski’s teammate now instead of a player in jeopardy of getting bowled over or taken for a ride by the tight end.

“I feel sorry for them, I really do,” Revis said of defenders. “Because Gronk is very tough to cover. I feel sorry. And Gronk, he works hard at it. He works hard, he does what he needs to do as a professional football player, and he’s an elite player.”

Elite, getting better, and allowed to run routes almost unimpeded? That’s a combination that’s scary for defenses, but a treat for the rest of us.

Shalise Manza Young can be reached at syoung@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @shalisemyoung.