Patriots Live Blog: Packers Beat Pats, 22-11
Final, 22-11 Packers: Green Bay drove it down inside the Patriots' 10-yard line, but they decided to put this game out of its misery by taking a knee. That was nice. Thanks for following tonight.
Read: Recap - Packers Beat Patriots
Fourth quarter, 7:42, 22-11 Packers: We've got points, ladies and gentlemen. We have got points.
Brett Hundley led the Packers on a 61-yard scoring drive, ending it with a pass to John Crockett, who reached over the goal line.
Mason Crosby capped it off with a 33-yard extra point. It was still boring.
End of third quarter, 15-11 Packers: The third quarter has ended. As far as uneventful preseason games go, this has been a rather uneventful second half.
That's not necessarily a bad thing, because it means nobody has gotten hurt and that nobody has performed too terribly. But it doesn't make for much meat to analyze here.
Third quarter, 12:13, 15-11 Packers: The Packers quickly turned that turnover into points, with Alonzo Harris breaking free for a 25-yard touchdown run ... thanks to three Patriots defenders playing a game of bowling pins with each other.
The Packers went for two and failed, so we still have a wacky looking score here.
Third quarter, 13:00, 11-9 Patriots: Josh Boyce is having a very bad game, and it just got worse.
Boyce did not fight at all to catch Garoppolo's pass, allowing LaDarius Gunter to intercept it and bring it down to the New England 29-yard line.
Garoppolo looked upset with himself after the play, but it looked like his receiver didn't help him out at all on that one.
Third quarter, 14:52, 11-9 Patriots: The second half is underway. Here are some first half stats.
Jimmy Garoppolo: 5-for-13, 63 yards, 2 sacks
Tom Brady: 1-for-4, 10 yards
Jonas Gray: 6 rushes, 73 yards, TD
James White: 2 receptions, 34 yards
Aaron Rodgers: 11-for-19, 117 yards, 2 sacks
Scott Tolzien: 10-for-16, 107 yards, TD
Eddie Lacy: 5 rushes, 36 yards
James Starks: 3 receptions, 38 yards
Halftime, 11-9 Patriots: James White took a hard hit and needed some time to get off the field, Jimmy Garoppolo got hit pretty hard on a sack, and the Patriots elected to attempt a longshot field goal in the final seconds of the half.
On a third-and-11 from the 38-yard line, Gostkowski lined up for a 56-yard field goal into the open end of the stadium.
Gostkowski drilled the kick with a few yards to spare, and the Patriots take a halftime lead into the locker room. If you like kicking, you were probably impressed by that one.
Second quarter, 5:11, 9-8 Packers: Is Scott Tolzien good? He kind of looks good.
He just hit Jeff Janis on a deep route along the right sideline in the end zone, capping off a seven-play, 60-yard scoring drive.
Tolzien couldn't connect with Myles White for the 2-point conversion, but the fifth-year QB out of Wisconsin looks decent out there.
My other question: Are scores going to be wacky all the time now? Both Belichick and McCarthy have gone for two after their respective team's touchdowns. They might just be experimenting. I mean, it's not as if the two-point conversion suddenly became a higher percentage play. It's still snapped from the 2-yard line. And that 33-yard field goal isn't exactly daunting.
I suppose that's what the preseason is for. But if this behavior keeps up, say goodbye to our comfortable 10-7 and 17-14 scores. Things could get wacky.
Second quarter, 13:44, 8-3 Patriots: Jonas Gray became an overnight sensation last year in Indianapolis, but this year he'll be looking to establish himself as a bona fide NFL player. He's off to a good start.
The running back ran off the right tackle on a first-and-10 from the Patriots' own 45-yard line. He found some space and then was off to the races, bursting up the right sideline and winning the footrace to the end zone.
Belichick then decided to see what these new PAT rules are about by going for two. Garoppolo tossed to Gray, who went left when everyone else on the offense went right, and Gray trotted into the end zone for two points.
End of first quarter, 3-0 Packers: It's Jimmy G. time, as Brady's night is officially over.
First quarter, :11, 3-0 Packers: Hey, look at that! The Packers aren't going to go for it on a fourth down!
After Logan Ryan covered Davante Adams to force a third-down incompletion in the end zone, the Packers elected to kick a field goal on fourth-and-goal from the 7-yard line.
That was a 15-play, 86-yard drive from the Packers. That Rodgers kid is pretty good.
First quarter, 1:53, 0-0: Rookie Trey Flowers must have been studying Chandler Jones' "Flying Squirrel" sack move which comes out from time to time, because Flowers walloped Rodgers on a second down near midfield, forcing a third-and-11 for Green Bay.
Rodgers ended up scrambling for an 8-yard gain, bringing up a fourth-and-3, and the Packers again went for it on fourth down. I guess Mike McCarthy is comfortable with his punting unit and doesn't need to get them any live reps.
Rodgers ended up calling timeout when the Packers couldn't get the snap off in time. When they finally ran the play, Andrew Quarless gained great separation on an out route, and Rodgers hit him in stride for a big gain to move the chains.
Unfortunately for Flowers, he ended up injured a few plays later. The training staff examined him down on the 23-yard line.
He ended up walking off, mostly under his own power. He then headed into the locker room.
First quarter, 7:22, 0-0: Hey, the New England defense is having some fun. They just came up with a stop of James Starks on a fourth-and-1, and the Packers turned it over on downs yet again.
And now the crowd gets to have fun, because Brady is back out there for another drive.
First quarter, 8:34, 0-0: Tom Brady's triumphant return ... ends on a three-and-out. Brady overthrew a well-covered Josh Boyce on first down, and then buzzed a pass right through Boyce's hands on third down.
Out came Ryan Allen to punt, and the Packers take over at the New England 43-yard line.
First quarter, 9:12, 0-0: Tom Brady is now 0-for-1 on the preseason.
First quarter, 9:16, 0-0: Tom Brady is on the field.
First quarter, 9:16, 0-0: Chandler Jones got his fake season off to a good start by sacking Rodgers on the very first play of the game.
The Patriots actually forced Green Bay into a three-and-out, except Rob Ninkovich jumped offsides, giving Green Bay a second chance at that third down. Rodgers converted it by finding Jordy Nelson on the run for a gain of 15. Eddie Lacey broke off a 15-yard cutback run on the very next play, and the Packers just kept rolling -- through the air and on the ground.
Lacey broke off another 15-yard run, setting up a first-and-goal at the 5-yard line. Lacey was stuffed on first down, Malcolm Butler broke up a lofted end zone pass to Davante Adams on second down, and Lacey was again stopped on third down, this time by Jamie Collins.
Facing a fourth-and-goal from the 2-yard line, the Packers decided to go for it. Rodgers ran all around the field in an effort to get away from Chandler Jones. He did and fired into a mess of bodies, but the pass fell incomplete.
The Patriots take over.
First quarter, 15:00: Gostkowski's kick sailed deep out of the end zone, and Aaron Rodgers has taken the field for Green Bay. Football!
7:34 p.m.: Tonight's live blog will be a little different than usual, in that it won't focus so much on the play-by-play. Because, you know, it's August 13th. I'll instead focus on the standouts, big plays, etc.
For now, we have a coin toss!
The Packers called heads, it landed on tails. The Patriots elected to defer (Belichick is in midseason form), and so the Packers will receive to start the game.
7:08 p.m.: While Brady was out there, many of his teammates were not. The ever-esteemable Jeff Howe from the Boston Herald was working hard on binocular duty and noticed quite a few absences.
Based solely on those absences and a gut guess, I would presume that if Brady does indeed play, it'll only be for a series. Same with Gronkowski. Those guys don't need to prove much tonight. But we shall see.
6:44 p.m: Tom Brady is indeed out on the field for warmups, with the usual "Public Service Announcement" from Jay-Z blaring over the Gillette sound system.
Brady didn't give his normal super fired-up scream to the fans in the corner of the end zone, but he is out there in full uniform, throwing passes, looking very much like Brady.
The next song on the stadium playlist was Nas' "Hate Me Now." A not-so-subtle message, perhaps?
5 p.m.: Hey people, face it. When Tom Brady retires (in 2022), football in New England might stink. He's an all-time great, arguably the best to ever play quarterback, yada yada yada. You get the picture.
So while everybody knows that preseason games mean nothing in terms of the scoreboard, it's still undeniably better when Tom Brady plays in them. Because, well, it's enjoyable to watch him play this sport.
And, lucky you, it seems like Brady just might grace you with his presence tonight after all.
After some reports on Wednesday said Brady wouldn't be playing in the opener tonight against the Packers, our own Marc Bertrand offered a cryptic report that seemed to say Brady will be taking the field tonight.
That's fun, right?
Anyways, stick with this live blog tonight throughout the pregame work as well as the game for live updates from Gillette Stadium. Even though it's the preseason, I think the fans might be eager to have some fun tonight.
