Brady has TD in preseason debut as Pats fall to Texans
HOUSTON » Tom Brady threw a touchdown pass in his first game since winning the Super Bowl on the same field and the New England Patriots fell to the Houston Texans 27-23 in a preseason game on Saturday night.
Brady, who sat out last week, was 6 of 9 for 67 yards while directing the offense for two possessions.
The Patriots punted on their first drive before Brady connected with Rex Burkhead on a 22-yard touchdown throw that tied it at 7-7 early in the second quarter. His performance came in his return to Houston after leading the Patriots back from a 25-point third-quarter deficit to a 34-28 overtime win against the Atlanta Falcons to earn his fourth Super Bowl MVP trophy here in February.
It was a far different environment than the previous time the Patriots were at NRG Stadium, but there was a reminder of their big win as remnants of red and blue confetti from the Super Bowl postgame celebration remained in the phone banks near their bench.
Rob Gronkowski also made his season debut for the Patriots, playing about 15 snaps, but not catching a pass, in his first preseason appearance since 2012. Julian Edelman and Brandin Cooks also played after sitting out last week and Cooks had a 7-yard reception.
Houston quarterback Tom Savage of Cardinal O’Hara was effective in two drives, going 8 for 9 for 98 yards with a 2-yard touchdown pass to Jaelen Strong that put the Texans up 7-0 in the first quarter.
“I’m really, really comfortable with this offense,” Savage said. “We have a lot of talent out there and a lot of the guys are making some big plays for me and it’s been awesome.”
Texans rookie first-round pick Deshaun Watson, who had 179 yards passing last week, threw for 102 yards and ran for a 2-yard touchdown in about two quarters of work. LIONS 16, JETS 6 » Matthew Stafford threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to Marvin Jones in the second quarter, and Detroit shut down Penn State’s Christian Hackenberg and New York.
After losing defensive lineman Kerry Hyder to an Achilles tendon injury in their preseason opener at Indianapolis, the Lions were still able to pressure Hackenberg early on. The Jets managed only 3 yards of offense in the first quarter and just two first downs in the first half.
Jets quarterback Josh McCown sat out this game, but Hackenberg did little to impress in his absence. Hackenberg was 2 of 6 for 14 yards and was sacked twice. TITANS 34, PANTHERS 27 » Marcus Mariota threw a touchdown pass and Tennessee earned a preseason win over Carolina.
The Titans (1-1), who were held to just three points last week against the New York Jets, scored on their first three possessions against Carolina, with help from one long drive and two Panthers turnovers.
Mariota, who finished 6 of 8 for 61 yards and one touchdown, completed a 20-yard pass to rookie receiver Taywan Taylor and then added a 9-yard run on the first two plays of the game. CHIEFS 30, BENGALS 12 » Rookie Patrick Mahomes threw a pair of touchdown passes, solidifying his spot as the Chiefs’ primary backup, and three Kansas City quarterbacks threw for a score during a victory over Cincinnati. COWBOYS 24, COLTS 19 » Dak Prescott connected with Dez Bryant for a 32-yard touchdown on their first series of the preseason, and rookie Cooper Rush threw two scoring passes in Dallas’ win over Indianapolis. PACKERS 21, REDSKINS 17 » Aaron Rodgers made a surprise start and looked to be in midseason form, going 6 for 8 for 37 yards and a TD pass on his lone drive for Green Bay, while Kirk Cousins and the rest of Washington’s first-team offense sputtered in the Packers’ victory.