Saints vs. Patriots: Score and Twitter Reaction from 2016 Preseason

The New England Patriots will be asked to win some games without Tom Brady during the 2016 season, and they did exactly that on Thursday in their first preseason contest of the year. New England beat the New Orleans Saints 34-22 in Gillette Stadium.

At this point, Patriots games take on slightly more intrigue than normal NFL preseason battles because Jimmy Garoppolo is expected to lead the team in the first four showdowns of the regular season while Brady serves his Deflategate suspension.

Garoppolo has thrown a grand total of 31 passes in his NFL career, so preseason action provides a glimpse at his potential against live defenses.

Brady wasn't even in the stadium on Thursday, as the Patriots announced he was attending memorial services for a family member.

Garoppolo posted solid numbers in a half of work and finished 11-of-18 passing for 168 yards. While he didn't account for a touchdown, he also didn't throw any interceptions. He also received some help from his defense, which scored two touchdowns during the game on a pick-six and fumble return.

Despite the victory and decent numbers, Garoppolo struggled out of the gate when he took a sack on his first third down. Ben Volin of the Boston Globe said the quarterback "stood like a statue in the pocket, didn't feel the rush," although he offered an important qualifier:

Garoppolo's counterpart, Drew Brees, played one possession for New Orleans and completed his only pass for 37 yards.

Brees' value to the Saints was clear when backup Garrett Grayson threw a pick-six on his first pass of the preseason. Patrick Chung caused a deflection, and Jamie Collins intercepted the loose ball and ran it 43 yards back the other way.

New England went up 8-0 with a two-point conversion, and the NFL passed along the initial score:

The Saints tied the score later in the first quarter and took the lead in the second with a pair of Mark Ingram touchdowns from New England's 1-yard line. The two-point conversions made it 16-8, and Grayson contributed on the second drive with multiple completions to rookie Michael Thomas.

Nick Underhill of the Advocate reacted to the development:

"

Sean Payton said the main thing he was looking for in Grayson was how he handled adversity. He's been pretty good since that pick.

— Nick Underhill (@nick_underhill) August 12, 2016"

He wasn't the only quarterback to bounce back from early struggles, as Garoppolo found James White for a 56-yard screen that set up a LeGarrette Blount touchdown run.

The Patriots added a field goal to take a 17-16 halftime lead, but there was a downside, as wide receiver Malcolm Mitchell went to the locker room with an injury that Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald described:

Jacoby Brissett took over at quarterback for the Patriots in the second half, but Garoppolo's improvement was of far greater long-term importance. He went 8-of-11 for 135 yards on his last 11 passes after starting a mere 3-of-7 for 33 yards, per Ryan Hannable of WEEI. 

New England's defense made the first notable play of the second half, as rookie cornerback Cre'von LeBlanc picked off Saints backup quarterback Luke McCown in the end zone in athletic one-handed fashion. Christopher Price of WEEI.com said it was the "kind of stuff [that] will get you noticed."

It set up a touchdown on the ensuing possession, when Tyler Gaffney scored on a 44-yard run to put the Patriots ahead 24-16. The NFL shared his breakaway speed:

McCown overcame his interception two possessions later and brought the Saints to within two again with a touchdown pass to Reggie Bell (the two-point conversion failed).

From there, the New Orleans defense got him the ball back with a chance to take a late lead, but Trey Flowers sacked him, forced a fumble, recovered it and ran it back 17 yards for what was essentially the game-clinching touchdown.

Lee Schechter of Bleacher Report reacted to the game-altering play:

Kai Forbath missed a late field goal for the Saints, while Stephen Gostkowski drilled a 45-yarder for the Patriots with less than four minutes left. Neither team scored again as the Patriots clinched the preseason victory.

What's Next?

The Patriots host the Chicago Bears in Week 2 of the preseason on Thursday, Aug. 18 in what will be another showcase for Garoppolo before the regular season.

The Bears missed the postseason in 2015, but they were solid on the defensive side of the ball and finished 14th in total yards allowed.

Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio likely won't unleash his full arsenal of defensive schemes in the preseason, but a solid performance against a decent NFL defense would give Garoppolo additional confidence heading into the first four games of the year.

As for the Saints, they take the field again on Saturday, Aug. 20 against the Houston Texans. 

Brees could see more playing time as the regular season approaches, and additional experience against a defensive front like Houston's—the team finished fifth in the league in sacks last year—could provide a strong August test, although J.J. Watt is recovering from back surgery.

Postgame Reaction

Howe provided an injury update for Mitchell after the game:

Outside of the physical setback, it was a productive evening for the Patriots because they won. However, coach Bill Belichick said he was “not ready to evaluate Garoppolo at this time before seeing the film,” per Michele Steele of ESPN.

Garoppolo said, "I think I am working in the right direction," per Hannable.

As for the Saints, coach Sean Payton said, "I don’t like the fact that your first pass goes the other way for a touchdown," when discussing Grayson, per Josh Katzenstein of NOLA.com.

Payton also said, "You’re not going to win many games [with four turnovers]," when lamenting the sloppy play, per Jeff Duncan of NOLA.com.

The good news for the Saints is the fact that Brees will likely clean up some of the turnover issues in the regular season. Still, Thursday belonged to Garoppolo and the Patriots in the battle of backup quarterbacks.