FOXBOROUGH, Mass. Sporting Alert – Investigated quarterback Tom Brady decided to play in New England’s opening game of the 2015 NFL preseason against Green Bay on Thursday night, but as expected, he didn’t stay too long.
Brady, who is currently dealing with his “Deflategate” punishment – opted to make a brief appearance at the Gillette Stadium, in Foxboro, but the Patriots suffered a 22-11 defeat to the Packers in preseason.
The 38-year-old went 1 of 4 for 10 yards and then made way for Jimmy Garoppolo in the defeat.
“Tom’s a buddy. And he’s going through some stuff right now,” Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers said after the game.
“I’m sure we’ll have a resolution here pretty soon.”
His replacement Garoppolo was 20 for 30 in completed passes and threw for 159 yards with one interception, while being sacked seven times in the defeat.
“I’m going into it pretty much the same way I would whether this was going on or not,” Garoppolo said.
“Whether you’re the backup, starter, third-string or whatever, you have to have the mindset that you’re the starter.”
At the other end, Aaron Rodgers, Scott Tolzien, Brett Hundley and Matt Blanchard and saw action for the Packers.
Starter Rodgers was 11 of 19 for 117 yards and Tolzien ended with 10 of 16 for 107 yards and a touchdown in the preseason victory for Green Bay.
Hundley also threw one touchdown pass, while James Starks had three catches for 38 yards and Alonzo Harris carried the ball seven times for 41 yards. He also scored the go-ahead touchdown to put the Green Bay Packers 15-11 ahead in the third quarter.
Also grabbing an opening NFL preseason win on Thursday night were the Washington Redskins, who rallied to defeat the Cleveland Browns, 20-17, with Robert Griffin III going 4 of 8 in passing in a short two possessions outing.
Johnny Manziel also showed signs that he’s improving and is ready to play his for the Browns after going a solid 7 for 11 in passes for 42 yards with no interceptions, while rushing for a 12 yard score.
Debutant Josh McCown threw a touchdown pass and went a perfect 5 of 5 in passing for 33 yards for Cleveland.
NFL PRESEASON SEASON SCORES
Green Bay 22, New England 11
Washington 20, Cleveland 17
Baltimore 30, New Orleans 27
Chicago 27, Miami 10
New York 3, Detroit 23
Dallas 7, San Diego 17
