Foxborough, MA
Wide receiver Julian Edelman recorded 78 yards on 13 catches while Aaron Dobson caught Tom Brady's only touchdown pass of the game as the New England Patriots escaped with an ugly 13-10 win over the New York Jets at Gillette Stadium.
Brady struggled without his regular targets Danny Amendola, Rob Gronkowski and Zach Sudfeld, completing just 19 of 39 passes for 185 yards but it was enough to help the Patriots (2-0) beat the Jets for the fifth straight time.
Dobson became the first Patriots wide receiver with a receiving touchdown in his first career game since Chad Jackson in 2006 against the Jets.
Stevan Ridley ran for 40 yards on 16 carries, Dobson had 57 yards on three catches while Kembrel Thompkins caught two passes for 47 yards as the Patriots recorded just 232 total yards compared to the Jets' 318.
Jets rookie quarterback Geno Smith hit 15 of 35 passes for 214 yards without a score. He also issued three interceptions, two by cornerback Aqib Talib, for a measly rating of 27.6.
Running back Bilal Powell ran for 48 yards on 13 carries and a score while wideout Stephen Hill was Smith's favorite target, catching four passes for 86 yards. Santonio Holmes recorded 51 yards on three receptions for the Jets, who slipped to 1-1.
In the game's first sequence, Brady engineered a six-play, 18-yard drive that he capped with a 39-yard touchdown pass to Dobson.
Five minutes later, Talib forced Hill to fumble and Devin McCourty returned the ball 44 yards to the Jets eight-yard line.
Stephen Gostkowski then hit from 21 yards out for a 10-point edge but Nick Polk retaliated with a 37-yard boot to end the first quarter with the Patriots leading by just 10-3.
Midway through the second quarter, Brady hit Thompkins with a 38-yard pass to set up Gostkowski's second field goal of the half from 30 yards for a 13-3 edge.
Gostkowski had a chance to make it a 13-point game before the half ended but he missed a 43-yard attempt.
In the third, Smith showed some flashes of brilliance when he spearheaded a nine-play, 58 yard drive that ended with a three-yard scoring run by Powell to trim the gap to 13-3.
However, Smith unraveled in the fourth, issuing three interceptions in four drives that doomed the Jets' chances of winning.
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