Kicker Wil Lutz missed a 61-yard field goal attempt in the dying seconds as the New Orleans Saints were beaten 35-34 by the Oakland Raiders. The Patriots’ final three drives of the half ended in a fumble and two punts.
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All eyes were on Garoppolo, who had the added pressure of dealing with a hostile University of Phoenix Stadium crowd and the scrutiny of a nationally televised game. Clearly, the Eastern Illinois product had done his due diligence preparing for this showdown. It was a one-yard touchdown, which might sound modest but had Fitzgerald making a contorted, over-the-shoulder catch with a defender glued to him.
“He did his job,” receiver Julian Edelman said of Garoppolo.
Fitzgerald extended his NFL-record streak to 180 games with a catch on a grab on Arizona’s opening drive and kept snaring balls from Carson Palmer.
Naturally, Belichick wasn’t giving him, or the team, too much praise after just one game.
Get the information on the Arizona Cardinals home field advantage here.
Running back David Johnson responded well in his first game as the starting running back.
GAMES PEOPLE PLAY: Those who had Chargers receiver Keenan Allen on their fantasy roster might want to look at the waiver wire.
It didn’t take long for Garoppolo to find success.
The suspended Patriots quarterback is forbidden from contacting his teammates and coaches during his four-game benching, but he was able to let them know that he liked what he saw against Arizona, publishing the Week 1 edition of the “TB Times” on his Facebook page late Sunday night.
Chandler Jones had one of Arizona’s two sacks against his former team, which traded him to the Cardinals last spring in exchange for guard Jonathan Cooper, who did not play because of a foot injury, and a second-round draft pick.
The Patriots also lost two fumbles in the game, giving the Cardinals a serious amount of momentum.
With seemingly no answer for Garoppolo, the pressure mounted for Palmer and Co.to keep up.
Kansas City quarterback Alex Smith dived for a touchdown on the first possession of overtime, completing the Chiefs’ come-from-behind 33-27 win against San Diego.
Jimmy Garappolo, a third-year pro in his first start, completed 24 of 33 passes for 264 yards and a touchdown with no interceptions.
Even with Arizona’s front seven putting together an impressive pass rush in the second half, Garoppolo kept the New England offense chugging along.
He sprinted toward the line of scrimmage, abruptly pulled up, and quickly released a floater 30 yards downfield, dropping it perfectly between the hands of Danny Amendola.
On offense the Cardinals need to work on quarterback protection and assignments. Jameis Winston tossed four touchdown passes in Week 1, so it’s another test for the Cardinals secondary and pass rush.
The Patriots were able to win despite losing the turnover battle 2-0.
Now New England has three home games, including two against AFC East opponents (Miami and Buffalo are sandwiched around a visit from Houston). The non-New England teams have played 45 separate seasons since Tom Brady fortuitously came into Bill Belichick’s life.
Belichick was his typically laconic self in assessing the Patriots’ play Sunday.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report. You know, going on the road, play well as a team, get contributions from all three phases.
“We should have won the game”, Cardinals coach Bruce Arians said. Those expectations placed upon Garoppolo heading into Sunday’s game remain just as scattered for next week, and the week after that, and beyond. “When they have confidence in you and you have confidence in them, it’s easy to stay poised out there”.
The snap from rookie long snapper Kameron Canady was low and holder Drew Butler didn’t get the ball in terrific position.
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“I’ve got to make that kick, just a good old-fashioned miss”, he said.
