Patriots' Rob Gronkowski Catches 50th Touchdown Pass of Career

New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski caught a one-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter of Sunday's 43-21 win over the Denver Broncos to become just the fifth player with 50 or more touchdown receptions through the first five seasons of a career, per ESPN Stats & Info.

Gronkowski's one-yard score on a short slant route marked the 50th touchdown catch of his young career, highlighting an impressive performance of nine receptions for 105 yards.

Though the touchdown vaulted the tight end's name into the record books, it was the play just beforehand that will stick in fans' memories. Gronkowski made an incredible one-handed grab for a 20-yard gain on a ball thrown behind him, falling just short of the goal line to set up his milestone touchdown on the very next play.

The hulking 25-year-old would later catch one more pass for nine yards, which put him over 100 yards receiving for a second straight game and third time this season.

Gronkowski joins some elite company in the group of players with 50 receiving touchdowns through five seasons, as Jerry Rice, Randy Moss, Lance Alworth and Andre Rison are the other four members.

What really makes Gronkowski's achievement impressive is the fact that he has already missed 14 regular-season games due to injury in addition to having a limited role in quite a few others.

No matter, he's reached the 50-score mark by being a touchdown machine when on the field, with his 50 through 59 contests working out to an average of 0.85 touchdown receptions per game.