Tom Brady threw two touchdown passes in his first game since tearing ligaments in his left knee in Week 1 last year, leading the Patriots to a 27-25 victory over the Eagles in the preseason opener in Philadelphia last night.
Brady ran well in the pocket and showed no lingering effects of his surgically repaired left knee. He threw two touchdown passes to tight end Chris Baker, one in the first quarter and another in the second.
Brady was 10 of 15 for 100 yards with one interception. His lone mistake came in the first quarter when he picked off by cornerback Sheldon Brown. Brady slammed his helmet in disgust as he took his seat on the bench.
Ravens 23, Redskins 0
Joe Flacco led the Ravens to field goals on his only two series, Troy Smith threw a touchdown pass, and Baltimore, at home, beat the punchless Redskins.
Flacco was 9 for 15 for 103 yards and Smith completed 14 of 30 passes for 200 yards, including a beat-the-clock 19-yard score to Justin Harper with 5 seconds left in the first half.
Steelers 20, Cardinals 10
In Pittsburgh, Isaac Redman, an undrafted rookie, scored twice in the fourth quarter for the defending Super Bowl champs.
Raiders 31, Cowboys 10
In Oakland, Bruce Gradkowski engineered three touchdown drives against mostly backups on Dallas’ defense, throwing a 3-yard touchdown pass to Tony Stewart in the second quarter. Louis Rankin and Gary Russell added short TD runs in the third quarter.
Tony Romo threw an 8-yard touchdown pass to Jason Witten for Dallas.
STALLWORTH SUSPENDED
Browns receiver Donte’ Stallworth was suspended without pay for this season yesterday after pleading guilty to killing a pedestrian while driving drunk. He cannot participate in any team activities until his reinstatement after the Super Bowl.
Stallworth struck 59-year-old Mario Reyes on March 14 in Miami. He pleaded guilty June 16 to DUI manslaughter, a second-degree felony, and received a 30-day jail sentence. He was suspended indefinitely by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell two days later.
“Your conduct endangered yourself and others, leading to the death of an innocent man,” Goodell wrote in a letter to Stallworth released by the league. “The NFL and NFL players must live with the stain that you have placed on their reputations.”
