MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 14 , 2020. THE WASHINGTON POST EZ M2 D3
nfl Week 1
BY KYLE HIGHTOWERfoxborough, m ass. — The Cam
Newton era for the New England
Patriots arrived on the ground.
Newton looked just fine as Tom
Brady’s replacement, rushing for
two touchdowns Sunday, and the
Patriots beat the Miami Dolphins,
21-11, to open the season.
Newton rushed 15 times for
75 yards and threw for 155 yards,
leading a Patriots offensive attack
that did most of its damage via the
rushing game in the first game
since the departure of Brady to
Tampa Bay as a free agent.
“It was relatively picking up
right where I remember the game
to be,” said Newton, who played
for the first time in more than a
year. “I think it was just a feeling-
through process as well with [of-
fensive coordinator] Josh [Mc-
Daniels], Coach Bill [Belichick], as
well as [quarterbacks coach] Jedd
[Fisch] to understand what they
have.... We made the adjust-ments, and we executed.”
Newton’s 75 yards were the
most by a Patriots quarterback
since Steve Grogan had 81 in 1977.
Sony Michel added a touch-
down for New England, which had
217 of its 357 yards on the ground.
Newton was 15-for-19 passing.
Miami struggled for most of the
game offensively and lost top re-
ceiver DeVante Parker, who left in
the third quarter with a hamstring
injury.
Ryan Fitzpatrick was 20 for 30
for 191 yards and three intercep-
tions. Miami was held to 269 total
yards.
“I felt up front we played well,”
Fitzpatrick said. “I have to play
better in my part.”
Newton scored from 11 yards
early in the third quarter to put
New England up 14-3. Later in thequarter, Jerome Baker kept the
Dolphins in the game, stripping
N’Keal Harry inside the 5-yard
line, causing a fumble through the
end zone for a touchback.
Miami then cut New England’s
lead to 14-11 in the fourth quarter
on a one-yard touchdown run by
Jordan Howard and two-point
conversion run by Fitzpatrick
with 10:31 left.
The Patriots moved quickly on
their ensuing series, getting inside
the Miami 40 on a 23-yard run by
Julian Edelman and a 15-yard pen-
alty on Baker for a late hit. Newton
muscled inside the 1 on a fourth-
and-one draw play. Michel went
over the top for a touchdown on
the next play.
The Patriots’ defense then shut
the door when Fitzpatrick was in-
tercepted in the end zone by J.C.
Jackson.
“ Just too many turnovers at the
end of the day,” Dolphins Coach
Brian Flores said.
— Associated PressNewton, New England off and running
PATRIOTS 21,
DOLPHINS 11BRETT DUKE/ASSOCIATED PRESSTom Brady threw two interceptions in his Tampa Bay debut, including one that was returned 36 yards for a touchdown by the Saints’ Janoris Jenkins. Brady finished 23 for 36 for 239 yards and two touchdowns.
BY BRETT MARTELnew orleans — D rew Brees and
Tom Brady, the two leading pass-
ers in NFL history, couldn’t mus-
ter vintage performances in the
first NFL game featuring two
starting quarterbacks in their
40s.
But while Brees avoided game-
turning mishaps with an offense
he has led since 2006, Brady suf-
fered some costly cross-ups with
his new team.
Brady threw two interceptions
in his Tampa Bay debut, Alvin
Kamara scored touchdowns run-
ning and receiving, and the New
Orleans Saints beat the Bucca-
neers, 34-23, on Sunday.
“I made some just bad, terrible
turnovers,” Brady said. “I obvious-
ly have got to do a lot better job.”
The first of Brady’s intercep-
tions led to Kamara’s six-yard
touchdown run. The second pick
thrown by the 4 3-year-old new
Bucs quarterback — who left the
New England Patriots in free
agency after 20 years and six Su-
per Bowl triumphs — was re-
turned 36 yards for a touchdown
by Janoris Jenkins.
“Win the turnover battle like
we did, have a turnover for a
touchdown, you’re a 90-some-
thing percent winner in those
games,” Saints Coach Sean Payton
said. “Just a lot of things hap-
pened in that game that despite
how you play, those things can
help you win games. The energy
and effort I was pleased with.”
The 41-year-old Brees passed
for 160 yards and two touch-
downs. He did not turn the ballover and took only one sack. His
first touchdown pass was a dump-
off to Kamara from 12 yards out.
In the fourth quarter, he hit free
agent signing Emmanuel Sanders
for a five-yard score.
“I’d probably say I played aw-
ful,” Brees said. “Certainly, we are
used to playing at a much higher
level offensively and especially in
the passing game. So we’ll get that
back on track.”
Still, Brees found satisfaction
in beating Brady’s Bucs.“Of course, it’s significant and
it’s unique and I’d be lying to you if
I said to you it didn’t mean a little
bit more,” Brees said. “I’ve got so
much love and respect for [Brady]
and what he’s able to accomplish.
“We played against each other
in college [Purdue at Michigan],
for goodness sake, in 1999,” Brees
continued. “At the end of the day, I
think we would both pinch our-
selves if you told us back then we’d
have the opportunity to play this
long and be a part of so many
great teams and so many great
moments, historic moments.”
Few witnessed this latest bit of
history in person, with govern-
ment leaders and the Saints hav-
ing agreed that no fans should
attend the opener amid the novel
coronavirus pandemic.
That turned the normally deaf-ening 73,000-seat Superdome
into more of an echo chamber.
When Wil Lutz’s field goal put
New Orleans up 17-7, the squeak-
ing of pulleys could be heard
across the stadium as the net
behind the goal post was lowered.
“It sort of felt like we were at a
Tampa Bay game,” Saints defen-
sive end Cameron Jordan said.
Brady compared the environ-
ment to “a scrimmage.”
“But obviously, it counts,” he
added. “We’ve got to look each
other in the eye and all work
harder, put more urgency on the
things we have to do.”
Tight end Jared Cook caught
five passes for 80 yards for New
Orleans, highlighted by a 46-yard
reception down the left side that
set up Sanders’s touchdown.
Brady was 15-for-28 passing for157 yards and one touchdown
through the first 54 minutes. He
padded his numbers in garbage
time, finishing with 239 yards and
two touchdowns, with the second
going to Mike Evans with 2:41 left.
Tampa Bay’s opening drive was
promising for Brady, who the
Bucs hope can lead them to their
first playoff appearance since the
2007 season.
He lofted a 26-yard completion
to Chris Godwin along the right
sideline, drew a pass interference
penalty with a 22-yard attempt to
Evans and capped the drive with a
two-yard keeper, after which he
emphatically spiked the ball.
It was a fleeting, triumphant
moment for the Bucs in a game
defined more, in the end, by their
new star’s mistakes.
— Associated PressIn Tampa Bay debut, Brady loses showdown with Brees
SAINTS 34,
BUCCANEERS 23Game was first featuring
two starting QBs over 40BY DAVE CAMPBELLminneapolis — After Green Bay
won last season at Minnesota to
clinch the division, Aaron Rodgers
paused to take a video of some
jubilant Packers fans lingering in
the stadium as he walked to the
bus.
This victory over the Vikings
was just as memorable, albeit
barely audible.
Rodgers took full advantage of
the Vikings’ young cornerbacks
and the empty building in Minne-
sota, beginning his 13th season as
Green Bay’s starting quarterback
by passing for 364 yards and four
touchdowns to lead the Packers
past the Vikings, 43-34, on Sun-
day.
“It was one of the strangest
experiences I’ve had in the NFL,
being in a stadium like this to have
memories of some really rocking
times,” said Rodgers, who threw
for only three scores over his first
four visits to U.S. Bank Stadium.
Davante Adams thrived all over
the field with a franchise-record-
tying 14 catches for 156 yards and
two touchdowns. Marquez Valdes-
Scantling and Allen Lazard each
reached the end zone, too, as
Green Bay had its way with a
Minnesota defense that was reno-
vated this year out of salary cap
necessity a fter h efty n ew c ontracts
were given to quarterback Kirk
Cousins and running back Dalvin
Cook.
“It was just locking in and tap-
ping into getting ready to play
here in front of zero thousand
fans,” said Adams, who tied Don
Hutson’s mark from Nov. 22, 1942.
Aaron Jones rushed for
66 yards and a touchdown for the
Packers, who posted their highest
score against the Vikings since a
44-31 victory at the Metrodome onOct. 27, 2013. This was the most
points Minnesota has allowed
since Coach Mike Zimmer was
hired in 2014.
“It’s not what we’re used to here.
It’s not what we’re about here, and
we’ve got to do everything we can
do to move on from this and im-
prove drastically,” safety Harrison
Smith said.
Cook rushed 12 times for
50 yards, two touchdowns and two
two-point conversions. Adam
Thielen caught six passes for
110 yards, two scores and another
two-pointer, but Cousins under-
threw him in the final minute of
the first half. Jaire Alexander, who
also recorded a safety on an un-
touched cornerback blitz in the
second quarter, made the bob-
bling interception.
Then Rodgers hit Valdes-Scant-
ling on a fade route up the right
sideline, a 45-yard touchdown
that gave Green Bay a 22-7 lead
with 11 seconds left in the first half.
— Associated PressRodgers is at ease as Green Bay rolls
PACKERS 43,
VIKINGS 34LEADERSPASSING
CMP-ATT PCT. YARDS TD INT
Matt Ryan, Falcons 37-54 68.5 450 21
Aaron Rodgers, Packers 32-44 72.7 364 40
Philip Rivers, Colts 36-46 78.3 363 12
Russell Wilson, Seahawks 31-35 88.6 322 40
Josh Allen, Bills 33-46 71.7 312 20
Matthew Stafford, Lions 24-42 57.1 297 11
Lamar Jackson, Ravens 20-25 80.0 275 30
Jared Goff, Rams 20-31 64.5 275 01
Teddy Bridgewater, Panthers 22-34 64.7 270 10
Carson Wentz, Eagles 24--42 57.1 270 22
RUSHING
ATT YARDS AVG. TD
Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Chiefs 25 138 5.5 1
Ezekiel Elliott, Cowboys 22 96 4.4 1
Christian McCaffrey, Panthers 23 96 4.2 2
Adrian Peterson, Lions 14 93 6.6 0
Josh Jacobs, Raiders 25 93 3.7 3
Kyler Murray, Cardinals 13 91 7.0 1
Austin Ekeler, Chargers 19 84 4.4 0
Malcolm Brown, Rams 18 79 4.4 2
David Johnson, Texans 11 77 7.0 1
Cam Newton, Patriots 15 75 5.0 2RECEIVING
TARGETS REC YARDS AVG. TD
Julio Jones, Falcons 12 9 157 17.4 0
Davante Adams, Packers 17 14 156 11.1 2
DeAndre Hopkins, Cardinals 16 14 151 10.8 0
Calvin Ridley, Falcons 12 9 130 14.4 2
Jamison Crowder, Jets 13 7 115 16.4 1
Robby Anderson, Panthers 86115 19.2 1
Russell Gage, Falcons 12 9 114 12.7 0
Will Fuller V, Texans 10 8 112 14.0 0
Adam Thielen, Vikings 86110 18.3 2
Robert Woods, Rams 86105 17.5 0