Brady Starts But Patriots Fall 22-11 to Packers in Preseason Opener
Joe Calabro, GoLocalProv Sports Team
Brady Starts But Patriots Fall 22-11 to Packers in Preseason Opener
"I don't think that we did anything well enough," coach Bill Belichick said after the game.
New England scored 11 points in the second quarter behind a 55 yard run by Jonas Gray and then a field goal by Stephen Gostkowski and took an 11-6 lead into the locker room.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTHowever, the Packers scored 13 straight points in the second half and held the Patriots scoreless to take the 22-11 win.
Brady Plays
Tom Brady did end up playing in the game, throwing for ten yards on one completion out of four attempts in seven snaps. The start comes just one day after Brady was in New York Federal Court to appeal his four game deflategate suspension.
Brady received standing ovations upon coming out for warmups and then taking the field for the Patriots first offensive drive.
Jimmy Garoppolo Sees the Field
Back up quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo played just over three quarters of the game and went 20 of 30 for 159 yards, one interception and seven sacks.
After the game, Garoppolo described his night as having "ups and downs."
Back to Work
The Patriots do not play again until next Saturday when they travel to New Orleans to take on the Saints. New England will hold their final open practice on Saturday at the fields behind Gillette Stadium before traveling to West Virginia to practice with New Orleans.
For more on preseason game one, see the five takeaways slideshow below.
Five Takeaways From the Patriots Preseason Opening Loss to Green Bay
Sitting Out
Rob Gronkowski and Jerod Mayo were among the players who were dressed on the sidelines but did not see game action.
Julian Edelman, Aaron Dobson, Matthew Slater and Brandon Lafell and LaGarrette Blount did not dress for the Patriots along with Bryan Stork and Nate Solder on the offensive side of the ball.
On the defensive side of the ball, Sealver Siliga, Chris Jones and Joe Vellano did not dress.
Gostkowski
Stephen Gostkowski hit one field goal in the game but it was an impressive one from 56 yards toward the open end of the stadium.
The Patriots tried for a two point conversion and failed after thier only touchdown of the game so Gostkowski did not get to try the new extra point distance.
Remember, extra points were pushed back to the 15 yard line this season.
Jonas Gray
Jonas Gray scored the Patriots only touchdown of the game, a 55 yard run to the endzone.
On the night, Gray had seven carries for 74 yards for an average of just under 11 yards per carry.
Second year players James White had eight rushes for 12 yards but also pulled in four receptions for 52 yards. White was playing a Shane Vereen type of roll for the Patriots in this one.
Tom Brady
Speculation all week was that Tom Brady was not going to play after being in New York for the better part of the last two days, but to the delight of the crowd Brady played.
Brady only played two series completed one of four passes for ten yards. The two series he played were a three and out and a four and out.
Jimmy Garoppolo
Jimmy Garoppolo played the majority of the game for New England and went 20-30 for 159 yards, no touchdowns and one interception.
Garoppolo was also sacked seven times in part due to the offensive line which was made up of all new players for this game.
After the game, Garoppolo said that there were "ups and downs" about his performance.
