NEW ORLEANS - Tom Brady got the start for the Patriots against the New Orleans Saints here in the Mercedes Benz Superdome.
Brady played the first three series - all 3-and-outs - and completed 2 of 5 passes for 13 yards as the Patriots fell behind 15-0 in the first quarter.
After taking a massive number of snaps during 11-on-11 reps Thursday at The Greenbrier while Jimmy Garoppolo mostly watched, we speculated the heavy work came because Brady could possibly be down tonight. He didn't play last season against the Redskins after a similarly large workload in joint practices in Richmond, Virginia.
Brady did go through a spirited pregame workout here. He did several sprints while tethered to strength coach Harold Nash by a resistance belt. That could have been an indication that he wasn't going to be working long once he started the game.
The Patriots offense is going to be undermanned again at the wideout position. Julian Edelman, Aaron Dobson, Brian Tyms and Brandon LaFell are all down (none being a surprise). That means another terrific chance for Josh Boyce to make an impression after last week's uneven game performance against Green Bay.