Today in Patriots History
2017: Brady throws three 1st quarter TD passes
Pats overcome week one loss, torch Saints, 36-20
Sunday September 17, 2017 at 1:00
Week 2, Game 2 at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome
New England Patriots 36, New Orleans Saints 20
Head Coaches: Bill Belichick, Sean Payton
QBs: Tom Brady, Drew Brees
Odds: Patriots favored by 5½
Pats improve to 1-1, Saints drop to 0-2
The Patriots were coming off a 42-27 home opener loss to the Chiefs, and shut the doubting media up with a resounding victory. New England dominated with 555 total yards of offense as Tom Brady went a near-perfect 30-39 for 447 yards, three touchdowns and no picks to win decisively, 36-20. The Patriots scored on four of their first five possessions, with Gronk catching six passes for 116 yards - including an incredible 53-yard TD in the second quarter.
Brady entered the game with just three healthy wide receivers and put on an absolute clinic in the first quarter throwing for 177 yards and three TDs.
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Ok, now everyone can back away from the ledge. The Patriots did just what they needed to do after a bad performance in the Week 1 loss to the Chiefs. They dominated the game on offense, and the Saints defense had on answers for the Patriots offense as the team ran out for 30 points in a pivotal first half and cruised to an easy win on the road.
Armour: New England Patriots quarterback turned in vintage performance as champs rebounded for convincing win over New Orleans Saints.
www.usatoday.com
Ten days after being routed by the Kansas City Chiefs — “It felt like a year,” Brady said — the Super Bowl champs needed all of one quarter Sunday against the New Orleans Saints to show everyone how ridiculous the reports of their demise were.
Brady threw for three touchdowns in the first quarter, the first time he’s done that in his career, and got reacquainted with old buddy Rob Gronkowski on a 53-yard score. By halftime, Brady had already thrown for more yards (302) and had more completions (19) than he did in the entire opener. He finished 30 of 39 for 447 yards and a passer rating of 139.6.
Don’t let the score fool you. This game was lopsided from the first possession on, and the score could have been even worse had the Patriots not ground out most of the second half to take time off the clock.
Expert recap and game analysis of the New England Patriots vs. New Orleans Saints NFL game from September 17, 2017 on ESPN.
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In Brady and the Saints' Drew Brees, the game featured the NFL's top wo active quarterbacks in terms of career yards and touchdowns. Their 922 TD passes and 128,251 yards passing combined coming in represented the most by starting QBs in the same NFL game.
But in this matchup, Brees couldn't keep up.
He was 27 of 45 for 356 yards and two TDs. The Saints' desperation to stay close was encapsulated by a failed attempt to convert a fourth down -- despite being well within field goal range on the Patriots 25-yard line -- with 2:27 left in the first half and New England up by 13.
Brady responded by marching New England to the Saints 10 to set up Stephen Gostkowski's field goal, making it 30-13 at halftime.
The Patriots' first three drives ended with a 19-yard TD pass to Rex Burkhead, Gronkowski's long TD and a 13-yard scoring pass to Chris Hogan.
Tom Brady has rarely looked better than he did in a 36-20 victory over the Saints
www.boston.com
If Tom Brady and the Patriots were suffering from a Super Bowl hangover, it looks as though a trip to New Orleans pulled the defending champions out of it.
The 40-year-old Brady hasn’t often looked better in his long, illustrious career, providing an audible contingent of traveling Patriots fans who chanted their star QB’s name ample reason to spend the rest of their Sunday celebrating on Bourdon Street.
Brady’s maiden Super Bowl triumph in the Superdome back in February 2002 is bound to be one of his fondest memories, but the 18-year veteran looked like a superior QB in his latest visit. He finished 30 of 39 for 447 yards without an interception — at least not one that counted. Saints defenders caught Brady’s passes twice, but both plays were wiped out by New Orleans penalties. Brady joined Warren Moon as the only QBs age 40 or older in NFL history to pass for at least 400 yards and 3 TDs in a game, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
Rob Gronkowski had a 53-yard catch and run to highlight his six-catch, 116-yard performance, but left the game in the second half with a groin injury.
NEW ORLEANS – The Patriots came to the “Big Easy” searching for answers. Following a disappointing home-opening loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, Tom Brady & Co. came to the Mercedes-Benz Superdome …
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The early start to this season has already been marred by injuries. With Julian Edelman out for the season, and Danny Amendola not playing Sunday, the offense needed some help.
They got it from Rob Gronkowski, who was dominant until he suffered a third-quarter groin injury. They got it from Rex Burkhead, who started, before he suffered a rib injury. They got it from Phillip Dorsett before he left the game with a knee injury. Before Sunday’s game was over, even Chris Hogan was limping.
Brady and his offense got creative on Sunday. It resulted in the Patriots pounding the Saints secondary en route to their 36-20 win to improve to 1-1. They’ll have to continue the offensive creativity going forward due to the number of weapons that have been put on the shelf.
Along with Edelman (knee), the Patriots also have Malcolm Mitchell (knee) on the injured reserve. With Amendola (knee/concussion) out, the Pats came into this contest with three receivers – Brandin Cooks, Hogan (78 yards, touchdown) and Dorsett (68 yards). That made offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels add a few new wrinkles to the offense.
The team started in a three tight-end set using Gronkowski (116 yards, touchdown), Dwayne Allen and Jacob Hollister. All three split out wide at different points on Sunday. The Pats also utilized four different running backs and split three – James White, Dion Lewis and Burkhead – out wide at different points.
“Coach McDaniels does a great job of putting us in positions to be successful,” said White, who led the team with eight receptions to go with 85 receiving yards. “No matter what personnel grouping we put out on the field, guys just want to go out and execute.”
The mixing and matching had the Saints’ heads spinning from the get-go. Brady threw for 447 yards to go with three touchdowns. He hit nine different targets. The Patriots also saw carries from seven different players.
Combine the interchanging tight ends and backs with the three receivers they had and the Patriots were quick to move the ball down field. After the loss last week, the goal on the offense was simple – create urgency and play a full 60 minutes.
All of the PFF-exclusive takeaways from the Patriots 36-20 victory over the Saints.
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QB Tom Brady, 86.5 overall grade
That's how a future Hall of Famer bounces back from an ugly Week 1. Brady was off target on only seven of his 39 targeted pass Sunday. He was lights out down the field, going 4-of-5 for 102 yards and a touchdown on passes 20-plus yards past the line of scrimmage. He made it look easy.
DE Deatrich Wise, 84.1 overall grade
The Patriots managed a measley 10 pressures all day long on Drew Brees, but four of those came via the rookie pass-rusher. Wise had a sack, two hits and a hurry on 27 pass-rushing snaps. It was a breakout performance for one of PFF's sleepers heading into the draft.
Rex Burkhead's 19 yard reception put the Pats on the board in the first quarter
The Saints were unable to defend against Rob Gronkowski
Chris Hogan had five receptions for 78 yards and a 13-yard TD that put the Pats up 20-3 in the 1st quarter
7:24 NFL Highlight Video
Patriots vs. Saints | NFL Week 2 Game Highlights
Box Score, Team & Individual Stats, and Full Play-by-Play:
New England Patriots 36 at New Orleans Saints 20 on September 17th, 2017 - Full team and player stats and box score
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