BROWN 2 BUSINESS
All-Pro puts on blinders, grabs TD in Pats rout of Fins
THE ongoing ci rc us surrounding Antonio Brown couldn’t derail a second straight overpowering performance by the Patriots to open the 2019 season.
Brown hauled in a touchdown pass in his New England debut — and the Pats defense shut down the historically awful Dolphins — in a 43-0 blanking in Miami.
The Patriots and the NFL allowed Brown to suit up despite a civil lawsuit filed last week by his former trainer alleging the four-time Pro Bowl receiver sexually assaulted her on three occasions. Brown’s accuser, Britney Taylor, is scheduled to meet with NFL investigators on Monday. ESPN reported Brown declined to settle the lawsuit for $2 million by a deadline last Sunday, leading Taylor’s attorneys to file the suit two days later.
According to NFL Network, Patriots owner Robert Kraft would not have signed Brown following his release this month by Oakland had he been aware of the allegations against the former Pittsburgh wideout.
Brown, whose locker was cleared out after Sunday’s game, was targeted eight times by Tom Brady. He caught four passes for 54 yards (all in the first half ), including a 20-yard back-shoulder touchdown reception early in the second quarter for a 13-0 New England lead.
“Antonio Brown is out of the locker room, his locker cleared out and the name plate taken down, before media was allowed into the room,” the Boston Globe’s Ben Volin tweeted shortly after Sunday’s game ended.
The 42-year-old Brady also flipped a short TD toss to James White and scored another on a quarterback sneak, while Sony Michel rushed for 85 yards and a touchdown for the Pats, who had torched Pittsburgh last Sunday night, 33-3, for a 76-3 two-week aggregate score.
During his postgame press conference, Brady didn’t address Brown’s off-field situation or the organization’s decision to let him play, saying “I don’t make any of those decisions. I just show up and play and do my job.”
Belichick similarly said he’d only “talk about the game“and he’s “not going to say anymore” about Brown’s off-field situation. “It’s one week. It’s good to have him out there. But there’s a lot of things we can work on,” Belichick added.
The polar opposite of the defending champs have been the Dolphins, who’ve been outscored 10210 over their first two games, both at home. That staggering figure also includes a 59-10 crushing by Baltimore in Week 1. The most points the Dolphins previously had allowed in their first two games of any season was 71 in 1968.
Ryan Fitzpatrick threw two interceptions that were
returned for touchdowns, by Stephon Gilmore (54 yards) and Jamie Collins (69). Miami’s offense had totaled just 38 total yards of offense through three quarters.
Josh Rosen, who mopped up in the fourth quarter for the second straight week, could start next Sunday against Dallas, according to the Miami Herald.
END OF AN ERA
Adam Vinatieri could be ending his Hall of Fame career with a doink.
Vinatieri, the NFL’s all-time leading scorer and the league’s oldest player (46), missed two more kicks in the Colts’ 19-17 win over the Titans, including one that bounced off the upright, after missing two field-goal attempts and an extra point in a Week 1 loss to the Chargers. The Colts will try to talk the 24-year veteran, best known for two Super Bowl-winning kicks that helped build the Patriots dynasty, out of retiring, according to NBC’s Mike Florio, after speculation the kicker might call it quits because of comments he made after the game.
Vinatieri — who has seven missed kicks in his last three games — didn’t take questions Sunday, saying “You’ll hear from me [Monday].” When reminded reporters don’t see players on Mondays, Vinatieri replied, “Yeah, you will.”
“Breaks my heart to see it, because I know how hard he works,” Irsay said. “Of course it’s a concern. I can’t lie to you guys. Anyone would tell you it’s a concern. Adam, coach Reich, [general manager] Chris [Ballard], me. Yeah, I mean, in this league, it’s professional football. We all have to produce.”
SAINTS GO MARCHING HOME
A terrible call in the Saints’ previous game against the Rams in last season’s NFC title game cost New Orleans a trip to Super Bowl LIII. Sunday’s meeting might have cost them their franchise quarterback for a while. Drew Brees suffered an injured right thumb on a hit by Aaron Donald late in the first quarter and was replaced by Teddy Bridgewater in the Saints’ 27-9 loss in Los Angeles.
Brees underwent X-rays on his thumb after the game and said he will see a hand specialist this week. “I’m concerned,” Brees said. “I hope it’s not significant.” The Rams also briefly lost Donald, their All-Pro defensive tackle, to a back injury later in the first half. But the reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year returned to the field just before halftime.
GRIN AND BEAR IT
The craziest finish of the day came in Den
ver, where Bears kicker Eddy Pin
eiro drilled a 53-year field goal as time expired for a shocking 16-14 win over the Broncos.
Joe Flacco’s 7-yard touchdown pass to Emmanuel Sanders with 31 seconds remaining and a two-point conversion pass to Sanders gave the Broncos a 14-13 lead.
The Broncos initially lined up to go for the two-point conversion before switching to a potential game-tying extra point following a delay-of-game penalty. Kicker Brandon McManus pushed the kick wide, but ex-Jet
Buster Skrine was offside on the play, and Denver coach Vic Fangio sent his offense back onto the field for another two-point try to take the one-point lead.
With the aid of an iffy roughing-thepasser call against Bradley Chubb on the final drive, Mitchell Trubisky moved the Bears to the Denver 35-yard line with one second remaining on the clock before Pineiro connected for Chicago’s first win. Earlier in the day, Jaguars running back
Leonard Fournette had been stuffed on a two-point conversion call going for the win by Jacksonville coach Doug Mar
rone in a 13-12 loss to Houston. Rookie QB Gardner Minshew had thrown a 4-yard scoring pass to D.J. Chark
with 36 seconds remaining.
BAD BEAT
The Chargers were in position to at least attempt a game-tying field goal, inside the 30-yard line, but Philip Rivers was picked off by Darius Slay in the end zone with 1:03 remaining in the Lions’ 13-10 win over San Diego in Detroit.
THE HURT LOCKER
Ben Roethlisberger departed Pittsburgh’s 28-26 loss to Seattle in the third quarter with an elbow injury. Big Ben was slated to undergo an MRI exam. San Francisco offensive tackle Joe
Staley suffered a broken leg, and Patriots tackle Isaiah Wynn departed their win over Miami with a foot injury. Giants wide receiver Cody Latimer suffered a concussion Sunday against Buffalo.
POST PATTERNS
Titans offensive lineman David Quessenberry, who missed three seasons after being diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin lymphoma in 2014, caught a touchdown pass as an eligible tackle from Marcus Mariota in Tennessee’s 19-17 loss to Indianapolis. ... Redskins running back Adrian Peterson dressed after being inactive last week. The 13-year veteran’s 1-yard touchdown run in the second quarter was his 107th career rushing TD, surpassing Jim Brown for fourth on the NFL’s alltime list. ... Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph, a third-round pick in 2018 out of Oklahoma State, made his NFL debut in place of Roethlisberger, completing 12 of 19 passes for 112 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. ... Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson’s third scoring strike of the day, a 28-yarder to rookie DK Metcalf, put Seattle (2-0) ahead by nine with 7:15 remaining. ... Chiefs wide receiver Demarcus Robinson had a productive day with Tyreek Hill (shoulder) sidelined, catching six passes for 174 yards and two touchdowns from Patrick Mahomes. ... Colts quarterback Jacoby Brissett threw a 4-yard touchdown to T. Y. Hilton with 4:38 remaining for Indy’s first win since Andrew Luck’s retirement. ... Chargers running back Aus
tin Ekeler scored his fourth touchdown in two games in San Diego’s loss to Detroit.
Star wide receiver Antonio Brown made his debut with the New England Patriots on Sunday, snagging a touchdown in a 43-0 Pats win — as it was reported that he declined to settle the rape claim against him for $2 million.
Brown and his accuser — his former personal trainer and Biblestudy partner, Britney Taylor — had been negotiating a settlement as far back as April, but he refused to sign the deal before the Sept. 8 deadline, ESPN reported.
The offer, which reportedly would have required Brown to pay more than $2 million, expired days before Taylor filed a federal lawsuit in Florida accusing him of three instances of sexual misconduct in 2017 and 2018, including an alleged rape in May 2018.
Its expiration also came a day after Brown was cut by the Oakland Raiders after a controversy-packed offseason and signed by the Patriots to a one-year $15 million deal in a matter of hours.
The Patriots were unaware of the suit at the time because Brown’s talks with Taylor were ongoing and confidential.
Had team owner Robert Kraft known of the allegations, he would not have green-lit the All-Pro’s signing, the NFL Network reported on Sunday, citing “a person familiar with the situation.”
In the suit, Brown, 31, is accused of sexually accosting Taylor, 28, on three occasions during their on-andoff professional relationship.
In the first, Brown allegedly kissed Taylor against her will at his home in Pittsburgh, where he then played for the Steelers.
Less than a month later at his home in Miami, Brown furtively masturbated behind Taylor as they watched a religious video on her iPad, ultimately ejaculating on her back, the suit alleges.
After a nearly yearlong split, Taylor gave Brown another shot as a client, only for the athlete to rape her in Miami, her suit claims. Taylor will meet Monday with NFL officials, reports said Sunday.
Brown, who has not been criminally charged, has claimed a consensual relationship with Taylor, denying any wrongdoing through his lawyer and agent, with the latter calling the suit a “money grab.”
In Sunday’s game against the Dolphins in Miami, Brown tallied 56 receiving yards on four receptions, including a touchdown, plus five yards on a rush, helping the Pats to a 43-0 victory.
Despite being all over the field during the game, Brown was nowhere to be found afterward.
“Antonio Brown is out of the locker room, his locker cleared out and the nameplate taken down, before media was allowed into the locker room,” Boston Globe reporter Ben Volin tweeted.
NFL media policy says teams “must ensure that nameplates . . . are left in position until after the locker room has cleared of media.”