The New England Patriots wasted no time mixing in their newest offensive weapon.
Antonio Brown made his mark in his Patriots debut, corralling four catches for 56 yards with a touchdown in a full-fledged beatdown of the Miami Dolphins. While Tom Brady and Bill Belichick both denied making Brown a point of emphasis in Week 2, it sure seemed to be somewhat of a priority. Brady found Brown three times on New England’s opening drive, and the duo nearly connected for a second score later the game.
Given the AB hype leading up to the divisional contest as well as his projected impact in Foxboro moving forward, Colin Cowherd’s three words to describe the Patriots’ win over the Dolphins shouldn’t come as much of a surprise.
“Patriots-Dolphins: TB to AB,” Cowherd said Monday on FS1’s “The Herd.” “Seventy-second player. That in itself is remarkable, to catch a touchdown pass from Tom Brady. He may be the most talented, or the second-most talented after Randy Moss. It felt like, to me, New England was experimenting in the first half with this offense. Patriots, 38 points per game. Listen, if we’re going to give Lamar (Jackson) credit for chewing up the Dolphins, we gotta give Tom Brady some credit. I think the AB thing is a must-have, as long as Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid are together. I think that’s why they did it. They’re looking around the room and thinking, ‘We got one obstacle in the AFC and it’s Andy Reid and Mahomes and Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce and we’re not going to be outmanned.'”
The Patriots have more than enough firepower to feature one of, if not the best offense in the NFL. It’s now up to Brady and Co. to make it work, as all of his receivers surely will be hungry for targets week in and week out. Brady claims he and Brown are “just getting started,” but it remains to be seen if AB will accept being just another cog in the wheel after serving as a clear-cut No. 1 wideout for so many years.
New England is primed to light it up again in Week 3 against a New York Jets team that’s been massacred by the injury bug to start the season. It’s probably going to be a long, long day for third-string Jets QB Luke Falk at Gillette Stadium.
