FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Tom Brady moved the New England Patriots with ease in their Super Bowl rematch against the penalty-prone Eagles, with a little help from running back James White and fifth-round draft choice Ja'Whaun Bentley.
In his first action since losing in the NFL title game to Philadelphia, Brady completed 19 of 26 passes for 172 yards and 2 touchdowns on Thursday night to help stake New England to a 27-7 halftime lead.
Super Bowl MVP Nick Foles left in the second quarter with a shoulder injury after a strip sack that Bentley recovered and ran 54 yards for a touchdown.
White caught six passes for 61 yards, including a 20-yard touchdown, and also ran for 31 yards in the first half of the Patriots' 37-20 victory. The Eagles had five penalties for 50 yards in the first quarter -- including two for lowering the head to initiate contact and one for hitting a defenseless receiver -- and 97 penalty yards in all.
After sitting out last week's exhibition season opener, Brady led New England to scores on four of the six series he played. Foles, who outplayed Brady in a 41-33 Super Bowl victory, managed one first down in his first three possessions and then coughed the ball up on a hit from defensive lineman Adrian Clayborn.
Bentley scooped the ball up and ran unpursued to the end zone to make it 17-0.
The Eagles announced that Foles had a strained shoulder and was questionable to return; he did not, finishing 3 for 9 for 44 yards. Third-stringer Nate Sudfeld played most of the next three quarters, completing 22 of 39 passes for 312 yards, three touchdowns and an interception.
REDSKINS 15, JETS 13
LANDOVER, Md. -- Sam Darnold threw an interception and showed some of the growing pains of a rookie quarterback in his first preseason start for the New York Jets, who lost to the Washington Redskins.
Darnold was 8 of 11 for 62 yards, but took 2 sacks and had a couple of throws batted out of the air, including the pass that was intercepted. It was a far cry from the impressive debut in which the third overall pick went 13 of 18 for 96 yards and looked like the front-runner to win New York's starting QB competition.
The former USC star played the entire first half before giving way to veteran Teddy Bridgewater. The former Vikings quarterback had his own inconsistencies, going 10 of 15 for 127 yards, a touchdown and an interception.
Redskins starter Alex Smith was 4 of 6 for 48 yards in one series, his only work so far in the preseason.
PACKERS 51, STEELERS 34
GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Aaron Rodgers needed just one drive to look at home in his first action at Lambeau Field in almost a year.
Rodgers connected with tight end Jimmy Graham for an 8-yard score , and Tramon Williams had a 25-yard interception return for a touchdown on the first play from scrimmage of the Green Bay Packers' win.
Five minutes after throwing the pick, Mason Rudolph found JuJu Smith-Schuster for a 4-yard touchdown pass. Rudolph, who is competing with Joshua Dobbs for a backup job, was just 5 of 12 for 47 yards in playing the first half.
Dobbs didn't look much better after throwing a 22-yard interception returned for a touchdown by rookie cornerback Josh Jackson in the third quarter. But Dobbs finished strong and connected with rookie receiver James Washington for two second-half touchdowns .
Starting quarterback Ben Roethlisberger watched from the sideline in shorts and a T-shirt. He and second-stringer Landry Jones had already been ruled out for the game when Roethlisberger left a training camp practice on Tuesday with a possible concussion.
Sports on 08/17/2018