By Traci MCartney // @traciamc
Sunday, September 17: 36 – 20 Win
After the home loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on the national stage last week, the New England Patriots needed to come out of Week 2 with a convincing win. They completed that task with a win in New Orleans over the Saints, 36-20. Tom Brady looked like well, Tom Brady, throwing for over 400 yards and three touchdowns, completing 30 of 39 pass attempts, earning him an impressive 139.6 passer rating.
With Julian Edelman and Danny Amendola out on offense, and Dont’a Hightower out on defense, it was unclear how the team was going to perform. But faith in Bill Belichick and the rest of the coaching staff insured that the Patriots, even on the road, would bounce back from their loss the week before.
The offense really came to life, with three touchdowns in the first quarter, with passes to Rex Burkhead, Rob Gronkowski and Chris Hogan respectively. Brady even played referee, making a case for the crew to pick up the flag thrown for an illegal pick since the block was within one yard from the line of scrimmage limit. Mike Gillislee scored a fourth touchdown in the second quarter following fullback James Develin into the end zone, and with a 28 yard Stephen Gostkowski field goal, the Patriots had 30 points by halftime, allowing only 13 for Drew Brees and the Saints.
But as good as the offense was, there was a price – injuries. Rex Burkhead and Rob Gronkowski both left the game with rib and groin injuries respectively. Gronk’s injury was particularly concerning, as it looked at first like he might have reinjured the back which caused him to miss the end of the 2016 season and the Super Bowl. Continue reading “Patriots Right the Ship vs Saints” →
