First reactions: New England Patriots march all over Saints in New Orleans

The New England Patriots bounced back in Week 2 with a complete team effort to defeat the New Orleans Saints 36-20 on Sunday afternoon.

Overreaction much?  The New England Patriots bounced back in a big way to defeat Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.

Tom Brady proved he is not washed up yet.  The 40-year-old quarterback threw for over 400 yards and three touchdowns in the game.  Impressively, he did so using many different weapons as the Patriots put up over 500 yards in total offense.

Along with touchdown passes to Rex Burkhead, Rob Gronkowski and Chris Hogan, Brady thew receptions to Brandin Cooks, Phillip Dorsett, rookie tight end Jacob Hollister and running backs Dion Lewis, James White and fullback James Develin.

Speaking of Hogan, he needed to come up big and he did.  Along with his touchdown reception in the second quarter, he had a couple big pass receptions in the game that kept the chain moving.  Hogan did appear to injure his leg in the game, but it was good to see him back in the mix.

Gronk being Gronk

Tight end Rob Gronkowski returned to his big play ways.  Following a quiet Week 1 against the Kansas City Chiefs, the All-Pro tight end hauled in a few big catches, including this 53-yard touchdown reception in the first quarter.

The touchdown reception was the 69^th of Gronkowski’s career.  He also went over 100 yards in the game.

Patriots fans did get a scare late in the third quarter when Gronkowski got up gingerly following a long pass reception.  What first appeared to be his back, it was later reported that the big tight end suffered a groin injury.

While it doesn’t appear serious, it is certainly an injury worth watching.

Big plays on defense

The defense did give up some big plays to Drew Brees, but young players such as Deatrich Wise Jr. and cornerback Jonathan Jones came up with some big plays of their own.

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Jones broke up a couple pass plays, including one in the end zone.  Wise put a few nice pressures on Brees before he finally recorded a sack.  Without Dont’a Hightower, it was good to see Matt Patricia’s defense come up big.  There is still some need for improvement, but definitely something to build on.

Players trending up

Deatrich Wise Jr., James White, Rob Gronkowski, Phillip Dorsett, Mike Gillislee, Jonathan Jones and of course Tom Brady all played big in Sunday’s victory.

Dorsett was the biggest surprise.  The newly acquired receiver caught 3 receptions for 68 yards, including a nice 38-yard reception from Tom Brady.

With a few more plays like that, Dorsett could find his way into Brady’s circle of trust.  As thin as the New England Patriots are at wide receiver, that would be a very good thing.

Next: New England Patriots week 2 projections and predictions

Overall assessment

Despite injury concerns to Gronkowski, Hogan and Eric Rowe, the New England Patriots once again proved that they are not the team that stunk up Gillette Stadium in the second half of last week’s game.  Granted, it came against a weak defensive team in New Orleans, but it was still a tough spot for a team looking to avoid going 0-2.