Brady, Smith sit as Patriots beat Washington

Foxborough, Mass. — Colt McCoy outplayed Brian Hoyer in a scrimmage of backup quarterbacks, while Tom Brady and Alex Smith stayed on the sidelines counting their money.

On the day that the Patriots reportedly sweetened Brady's contract with $5 million in incentives, the reigning NFL MVP sat out the team's exhibition season opener.

So did his Washington counterpart, Smith, who was traded to the nation's capital in the offseason and received a fouryear, $94 million extension.

In their place, McCoy completed 13 of 18 passes for 189 yards and two touchdowns as Washington opened 17-0 lead in the first half. Hoyer struggled against the Washington starters, but drove New England to a pair of second-half touchdowns, including Ralph Webb's 8-yard run for a score followed by the catch on a 2-point conversion that gave New England its first lead en route to a 26-17 victory in the exhibition season opener on Thursday night.

Webb also added a 1-yard score that made it 26-17 after Trent Harris strip-sacked Washington third-stringer Kevin Hogan and Geneo Grissom recovered and ran 53 yards before he was brought down near the goal line.

ESPN reported before the game that the Patriots would add $5 million in incentives to Brady's contract.