Brady makes surprise exhibition start

The Packers managed a first quarter field goal after going for it on fourth down and failing on the first two drives. Jordy Nelson, Randall Cobb, Davante Adams and Andrew Quarless all had a reception for at least 10 yards.

Check below for scores and highlights of the game.

Harris led the ground game-which had 133 yards on 34 attempts-with 41 yards on seven carries. On the second drive, the Packers had 4th-and-inches but didn’t convert. The Cowboys scored their only points on running back Gus Johnson’s 5-yard run in the second quarter. And then when the clock wound down and it was apparent that if we had snapped the ball and run a normal play, we probably would have run out of time, so we would’ve had to score a touchdown on the play or the half would have been over. Backup Scott Tolzien was 10 for 16 for 107 yards and a 26-yard touchdown pass to Jeff Janis. Instead of hitting Boyce on the outside, Garoppolo’s throw was inaccurate and was thrown towards the inside of Boyce, where the defensive back was sitting and picked him off. Boyce didn’t help the cause, failing to fight and try to break up the pass. But, that’s just how Boyce’s night went. One second, the Patriots quarterback’s eyes were shooting upfield, searching for open receivers. He was intercepted in the second half by LaDarius Gunter, who returned it 28 yards to the Packers 29. And it doesn’t go for just Green Bay. Crockett made a splash play of his own midway through the fourth by hauling in a red zone pass from rookie Brett Hundley and stretching it across the goal line.

But Garoppolo didn’t make any excuses and was particularly harsh on himself for the interception, which he threw into tight coverage along the left sideline.

– The Packers signed free-agent cornerback Ryan White on Thursday before their preseason opener. While the Patriots hoisted the Lombardi Trophy last year, Green Bay came within a whisker of meeting New England in the big game.

The rally aside, it was not a promising performance by a team coming off a five-win season. The Packers hold a narrow 6-5 lead in the series.

For a team that focuses heavily on handling a variety of situations throughout the course of a given season, the end of the half against Green Bay provided Garoppolo a live look at a challenging clock-management scenario.

But even though he ceded his normal play-calling charts, the Packers offense showed promise at various times and with various personnel throughout their game against the Patriots.

That alone might give Belichick reason to keep Brady out of the game; he’s missed the preseason opener four times since taking over as starter, including last year, and he’s skipped at least one exhibition game in six of the past seven seasons.