“Look, he’s been working for this for a long time, all the way back to the spring, all the way through training camp”, Patriots coach Bill Belichick said after Brissett replaced the injured Jimmy Garoppolo late in the second quarter of what turned out to be New England’s 31-24 victory over the Miami Dolphins. They have not had Rob Gronkowski, Rob Ninkovich or Brady for their first two games but without Garoppolo now and no viable veteran options out there in free agency do all these injuries begin to take their toll on the Pats, even when Brady returns?
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If he makes his first career start against the Houston Texans on Thursday night, things will be a bit more hard.
In the meantime the Patriots have been the most impressive team through the NFL’s first two weeks, they have been a machine-like offense and defensively, they have caused turnovers and wrecked havoc on passing games with an impressive pass rush. That was to be Garoppolo’s final week as Brady’s fill-in.
It was all on display, brutally, here at Gillette Stadium yesterday when the New England Patriots held on for its life, beating the Miami Dolphins, 31-24.
According to ESPN, Garoppolo had left the Patriots’ locker room before reporters were allowed into the area.
Wide receiver Donte Moncrief exited in the first quarter with what the team said was a head and neck injury.
New England later intercepted a Miami pass in the end zone with two seconds left to seal the win, their second in as many weeks in the young season. Prescott completed 22 of his 30 passes, including seven to top wideout Dez Bryant for 102 yards.
Hightower suffered a knee injury in the opening game at Arizona on Monday night and was missing from practice throughout the week and officially listed as doubtful on the injury report. Tight ends Jesse James and Xavier Grimble also caught scoring passes from Roethlisberger as the Steelers (2-0) kept Cincinnati in check at rainy Heinz Field.
“We were fighting against a good football team in their home”, cornerback Reshad Jones said.
But the second half was a different story for the Patriots, particularly their defense, as the Dolphins gained steam under the leadership of Ryan Tannehill and athleticism of wide receiver DeVante Parker.
Williams was knocked unconscious in the first half of the 16-13 loss to New York Giants and the game was halted for several minutes. He was immobilized and placed on a backboard before being carted off the field.
McCown finished the game 20-of-33 for 260 yards and two touchdowns. Brissett, a rookie from NC State, was drafted in the third round of this year’s draft. But of the 389 that Ryan Tannehill threw for on Sunday, about 300 of them came in the second half when the game was well out of hand.
One guy who on this team who understands the instability at quarterback adversely affecting the won-loss record is Patriots defensive end Chris Long, who spent eight seasons with the St. Louis Rams. And after a 1-yard gain on Tampa Bay’s first play of the second quarter, running back Doug Martin left with a hamstring injury.
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-Washington Redskins nose tackle Kedric Golston suffered a game-ending hamstring injury on the first play from scrimmage against the Dallas Cowboys. “Fuller can obviously create the big play very quickly, and it’s a big problem as far as the deep part of the field is concerned”. But the right knee – the same one in which he tore his ACL in 2011 – has been torn, per coach Mike Zimmer via the club’s official Twitter account on Monday. The Raiders appeared to have tied the game on the next drive when Amari Cooper caught a 51-yard TD pass from Derek Carr.
