Here’s What Impressed Rex Ryan Most About Antonio Brown’s Patriots Debut

Rex Ryan believes the New England Patriots “absolutely” sent a message Sunday by getting Antonio Brown involved in the offense early against the Miami Dolphins.

Brown caught three passes on New England’s opening drive and finished with four catches for 56 yards and a touchdown as the Patriots dismantled the Dolphins 43-0 at Hard Rock Stadium.

But Ryan was impressed by more than just Brown’s stat line in the wide receiver’s Patriots debut.

“The guy is a super talent. So you saw him play a lot of split end, that way he didn’t have to motion and all those kinds of things,” Ryan, a former head coach of the New York Jets and Buffalo Bills, said Monday on ESPN’s “Get Up!” “But what I was impressed with — obviously the way they started the game, featured him, three catches. But also the red-zone presence. He has the one touchdown catch in the red zone … but they also targeted him three other times in the red zone. So he could’ve easily had two or three touchdowns in this game. I know what (Bill) Belichick’s saying. Yeah, don’t believe that. They wanted to start the game with him, and they wanted him to be a factor in the red zone.”

It’s been a strange start to Brown’s tenure with the Patriots. A civil lawsuit was filed against the 31-year-old last week accusing him of sexual assault and rape, further fueling the debate over whether New England should have signed the former Pittsburgh Steelers star following his shaky exit from the Oakland Raiders, but he looked excellent on the field Sunday as the Patriots improved to 2-0 with their second consecutive blowout victory.

It’s hard to predict what’s next in the Brown saga, especially in light of the disturbing allegations that surfaced Monday in Sports Illustrated’s bombshell report on the All-Pro wideout. But it’s clear New England’s offense could be even more dangerous than it already was if he’s able to stay on the field.