Patriots beat Eagles 37-20 in Super Bowl rematch
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – Tom Brady moved the New England Patriots with ease in their Super Bowl rematch against the penalty-prone Eagles, with a little help from running back James White and fifth-round draft choice Ja’Whaun Bentley.
In his first action since losing in the NFL title game to Philadelphia, Brady completed 19 of 26 passes for 172 yards and two touchdowns on Thursday night to help stake New England to a 27-7 halftime lead.
Super Bowl MVP Nick Foles left in the second quarter with a shoulder injury 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 also ran for 31 yards in the first half of the Patriots’ 37-20 victory. The Eagles 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.
Brady led New England to scores on four of the six series he played.
Redskins 15, Jets 13
LANDOVER, Md. – Sam Darnold threw an interception and showed growing pains of a rookie quarterback in his first preseason start for the New York Jets, who lost to the Washington Redskins on a last-second field goal.
Darnold was 8 of 11 for 62 yards, but took two sacks and had a couple of throws batted out of the air, including the pass that was intercepted . It was a far cry from the impressive debut in which the third overall pick went 13 of 18 for 96 yards and looked like the frontrunner to win New York’s starting QB competition.
Packers 51, Steelers 34
GREEN BAY, Wis. – Aaron Rodgers needed just one drive to look at home in his first action at Lambeau Field in almost a year.
Rodgers connected with tight end Jimmy Graham for an 8-yard score , and Tramon Williams had a 25-yard interception return for a touchdown on the first play from scrimmage of the Green Bay Packers’ win over the Pittsburgh Steelers.