Brady keeps foot on the throttle

MIAMI GARDENS, FLA . » When Antonio Brown celebrated his first touchdown with the New England Patriots by vaulting into a first-row luxury box, he didn’t linger. The Patriots had a job to finish. Determined to play to the final gun after allowing a miracle comeback at Miami last year, the Patriots beat the Dolphins 43-0 Sunday.

Coach Bill Belichick had Tom Brady still throwing at the end.

“We’re playing 60 minutes,” Belichick said.

The Pats did that. They scored twice on interception returns in a two-minute fourth-quarter span, and registered their first shutout since Week 3 of 2016.

Brown helped get them going. The Patriots were 18½-point favorites but led only 7-0 late in the first half before Brady hit his newest target for a 20-yard score.

They connected four times in all. “It was a good start,” Brady said. “I was just trying to find an open guy. He was snapping off some routes and did a great job.”

Brown, who signed Monday, made an 18-yard catch on his first play and finished with 56 yards receiving, all in the first half. He won raves from teammates for his debut.

“It was awesome,” receiver Julian Edelman said. “A lot of energy. He’s a playmaker.”

New England’s defense outscored Miami (0-2) with interception returns for touchdowns of 54 yards by Stephon Gilmore and 69 yards by Jamie Collins Sr. The Patriots (2-0) totaled seven sacks and four interceptions and earned their most lopsided win in the 108-game history of the series.

“The defense was spectacular,” Brady said.