Patriots’ Garoppolo injured, still beat Dolphins 31-24

Garoppolo was injured late in the first half after throwing for 234 yards and three touchdowns while the Patriot defense was shutting out the Dolphins.

Jimmy Garoppolo suffered a shoulder injury that could “take six weeks to heal” according to the Boston Herald. Prior to his injury, Garoppolo looked in control of not only the offense but the game. That’s his role as in what our plan is going forward.

Coach Bill Belichick said before the season that this was one of the most skilled offensive teams he has possessed during his tenure in New England. He tallied two sacks in the victory last week. The Patriots are playing without Rob Gronkowski, Dion Lewis, Dont’a Hightower and, of course, Brady. In week one, Bennett was largely used for his inline blocking with a depleted offsensive line.

“The wide receivers trio of Julian Edelman (six receptions, 69 yards), Danny Amendola (four receptions, 50 yards, two touchdowns) and Chris Hogan (three receptions, 47 yards) blistered the Dolphins”™ secondary in the first half.

STARTING SLOWLY: The Dolphins limited New England to a single second-half touchdown, which probably had a lot to do with Garoppolo getting knocked out of the game. The Giants turned the ball over three times in the second quarter on fumbles by running back Shane Vereen, quarterback Eli Manning and receiver Victor Cruz.

The downtime without Brady this time will be much shorter, but the mindset for the Patriots is pretty much the same as it was then. He rebounded nicely this week however.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – A year after combining to score 101 points, the MetLife Stadium rematch saw the teams produce 29 as NY defeated New Orleans on Josh Brown’s 23-yard field goal as time expired. The Patriots honored a Red Sox great before the game – David Ortiz coming out of the tunnel wearing a Tom Brady No. 12 jersey but quickly added a No. 34 presented to him by Patriots owner Robert Kraft – with “Big Papi” on the back.

A rookie who was drafted as insurance during Brady’s four-game “Deflategate” suspension, Brissett could be making his first National Football League start in four days when the Patriots meet Houston on Thursday night. It’s a dicey situation for New England, but also is a reminder of how blessed the Patriots have been in recent years. It wasn’t just the defense that looked demoralized. For the rest of the game, the Patriots didn’t score.

Oddly, the presence of Brady works against the public perception of McDaniels as well, because it’s fair to wonder how much coaching a player like Brady really even needs.

Garoppolo’s status for Thursday Night Football is unknown, but one thing is for sure, Brissett will be heavily involved in Pats’ next practice. Rookie Jacoby Brissett, the third-round pick from NC State (91st overall), took over, as he is the only other quarterback on the 53-man roster. It will be interesting to see how Miami handles this situation.

Brissett stepped in for Garoppolo and completed 6-of-9 passes for 92 yards.