Patriots prevail despite a quiet night by Brady
NEW ORLEANS — Saints receiver Brandon Cooks looks ready to fulfill the promise he showed as a rookie last season before smashing his hand on a helmet.
Cooks caught all four passes thrown his way for 117 yards, including a 45-yard touchdown from Drew Brees, and the New Orleans Saints raced to a 21-0 lead before the New England Patriots rallied for a 26-24 preseason victory Saturday night
Brees, a healthy scratch last week when New Orleans (0-2) lost at Baltimore, was 8-of-10 for 159 yards and two TDs, the other going to veteran tight end Ben Watson.
After Tom Brady failed to move New England (1-1) for a first down on three series, backup Jimmy Garoppolo led five scoring drives, starting with his scramble and 24-yard scoring pass to Chris Harper.
Garoppolo, who is in line to start the regularseason opener if Brady fails to get his four-game suspension overturned for his role in “Deflategate,” finished 28-of-33 for 269 yards and one touchdown.
In other preseason action:
• Sam Bradford and DeMarco Murray had successful debuts, Kenjon Barber returned another punt for a score, and the host Philadelphia Eagles beat the Baltimore Ravens 40-17. Bradford went 3-of-5 for 35 yards and led the Eagles (2-0) on an 84-yard drive in his only series. Murray, the exDallas Cowboys star, had a 2-yard TD run.
• Jay Cutler led Chicago to three first-half field goals and Jimmy Clausen got the Bears in the end zone twice in the second half, putting away a 23-11 win at Indianapolis. Colts quarterback Andrew Luck scored on a 5-yard run and then threw a conversion pass to ex-Texans starAndre Johnson to give Indy an 8-6 lead early in the second quarter.
• Ryan Tannehill completed 12 of 15 passes for 102 yards and a touchdown, and Damien Williams scored twice for the Miami Dolphins in a 31-30 loss to the Carolina Panthers in Charlotte, N.C.
• Blake Bortles had another impressive preseason outing for Jacksonville, leading the Jaguars to three field goals in his only drives in a 22-12 loss to the New York Giants in East Rutherford, N.J.
• Charles Johnson and Chase Ford each caught touchdown passes in the second quarter for the host Minnesota Vikings, who came back from an hour-plus weather delay to defeat the Oakland Raiders 20-12.