New England's opening drive started off in typical fashion, with Brady going 6-for-6 including two well-timed middle-distance routes. Brady primarily playing out of the shotgun may limit those some of those red zone rushing opportunities, but Brady appears (so far) less affected by the thumb injury than we'd been led to believe. Drive ended in a short field goal, giving Patriots a 3-0 lead.
Sorry. I just think this "x-ray image" of Brady's damaged hand was hilarious.
Jacksonville's opening series starts out rather conservative, which isn't surprising to me. Short rushes, short passes, drag out the defensive front-sevens and find weaknesses in coverage. The running game will look to weaken the defense a bit for later on, should the game stay close.
It will be important for the Jaguars to keep some advantage in field position, even if drives don't work out. Patriots start second drive inside their own 15-yard line.
Brady starts second drive with a play under center and a pass to Brandin Cooks for a first down. That's a sign the injury (right now) is not affecting him.
Good defensive stop by the Jags, surrendering only a first down on Pats second drive.
Do yourself a favor if you missed it and find the video for John Malkovich's teaser commercial for this game, produced by CBS.
Jags going back to the run for their second drive and getting positive yards. Good move to keep the Pats defense honest. Again, being effective with stretching the Patriots defense with easy situations as first quarter comes to a close, Patriots leading 3-0.