Brady on target as Patriots bury mistake-prone Eagles
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Tom Brady moved New England with ease in its Super Bowl rematch against penalty-prone Philadelphia, with help from running back James White and rookie fifth-round linebacker Ja’whaun Bentley, en route to a 37-20 victory.
In his first action since losing in the NFL title game to the Eagles, Brady completed 19 of 26 passes for 172 yards and two touchdowns Thursday to help stake the Patriots (2-0) to a 27-7 halftime lead.
Super Bowl MVP Nick Foles left in the second quarter with a strained shoulder after a strip sack that Bentley recovered and ran 54 yards for a touchdown.
White caught six passes for 61 yards, including a 20-yard touchdown, and ran for 31 yards in the first half.
The Eagles (0-2) had five penalties for 50 yards in the first quarter — including two for lowering the head to initiate contact and one for hitting a defenseless receiver — and 97 penalty yards in all.
After sitting out last week’s exhibition season opener, Brady led New England to scores on four of the six series he played.
Foles, who outplayed Brady in a 41-33 Super Bowl victory, managed one first down in his first three possessions, going 3 of 9 for 44 yards, and then coughed the ball up on a hit from defensive end Adrian Clayborn.
At
Redskins 15, Jets 13 —
Landover, Md., rookie Sam Darnold played the entire first half for New York (1-1), completing 8 of 11 passes for 62 yards, absorbing two sacks and throwing an interception.
Alex Smith played one series for Washington (1-1), completing 4 of 6 passes for 48 yards. Dustin Hopkins made all five of his field-goal attempts for the Redskins, including a 40-yarder as time expired.
At Green Bay, Wis., Aaron Rodgers was 2 of 4 passing for 35 yards, including an 8-yard touchdown to tight end Jimmy Graham, in his lone drive for Green Bay (2-0).
Mason Rudolph found Juju Smith-schuster for a 4-yard touchdown for Pittsburgh (1-1) and finished 5 of 12 for 47 yards in the first half.
Packers 51, Steelers 34 —