Packers vs. Patriots: Score and Twitter Reaction from 2015 Preseason

The Green Bay Packers picked up a 22-11 victory over the reigning Super Bowl champion New England Patriots on Thursday night at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts.

Aaron Rodgers played the entire first quarter, finishing 11-of-19 for 117 yards through the air. Scott Tolzien came off the bench to throw for 107 yards and a touchdown on 10-of-16 passing. Green Bay's offense looked to be in midseason form already.

You can't say the same thing about the Patriots offense, but that was to be expected.

With Tom Brady potentially out for the first four games of the regular season, fans throughout New England eagerly anticipated the preseason debut of Jimmy Garoppolo. After the Patriots drafted Garoppolo in the second round of the 2014 draft, it looked as though the team was putting a succession plan in place for life after Brady.

The second-year QB will be thrust into the starting role a little earlier than expected. However, he commented Wednesday how he's in a much better position this year to assume a bigger role in the offense.

"Last year things were much different—circumstances, just knowing the playbook, I mean I was very new back then," Garoppolo said, per Shalise Manza Young of the Boston Globe. "Just the comfortability with the offense is much more than it was last year. Like I said, you become more comfortable with the offense, the terminology, calling the plays, reading the defenses, all that stuff, it all adds up."

After a somewhat shaky first half, he became more relaxed as the game went on. He threw for 159 yards and an interception on 20-of-30 passing.

Of course, the game was also notable because it's the first time Brady has stepped on a field since he received his suspension.

Bleacher Report's Mike Tanier joked that the league is already hard at work to keep an eye on the Pats on the sidelines:

There was some initial doubt about whether Brady would play at all, but he tipped his hand a bit with this Facebook post Thursday afternoon:

Brady played two series, going 1-of-4 for 10 yards. He made way for Garoppolo on New England's third drive. According to ESPN.com's Mike Reiss, Brady got seven snaps in the first half, compared to 24 for his understudy.

Although the eyes of Patriots fans were most attuned to the on-field exploits of Garoppolo, running back Jonas Gray turned the most heads Thursday.

A first-quarter field goal from Mason Crosby gave Green Bay an early 3-0 lead. A little over a minute into the second quarter, though, Gray broke free for a 55-yard touchdown run to give New England the advantage. He subsequently punched in the two-point conversion to make it an 8-3 game.

NFL Network has the footage of the touchdown scamper here:

ESPN's John Buccigross firmly believes Gray will do everything to avoid the wrath of head coach Bill Belichick this year after being benched for tardiness last November:

Meanwhile, NFL.com's Adam Rank is already looking at the running back's fantasy value:

Gray finished with 74 yards rushing and one touchdown on seven carries. LeGarrette Blount will likely be the feature back in New England's offense—at least when his right knee is healthy—but you can envision Gray carving out a nice niche for himself this year.

While Garoppolo struggled for the most part in the first half, Green Bay's backup, Tolzien, had no such issues. He put the Packers ahead 9-8 with a perfect pass over the top of the New England secondary to Jeff Janis:

Nobody is expecting Tolzien to challenge Rodgers for the starting job, but ESPN.com's Rob Demovsky liked what he saw from the fifth-year quarterback:

Green Bay failed with its two-point conversion, maintaining the one-point edge.

As the first half concluded, Stephen Gostkowski banged home a 56-yard field goal to send the Patriots into the locker room with an 11-9 lead.

New England didn't get the second half off to a great start. On the team's first drive, Ladarius Gunter intercepted a pass from Garoppolo intended for Josh Boyce. Boyce should've put in a better effort to make the catch and/or prevent the interception, but Garoppolo should've avoided making the throw altogether.

The Packers made the most of the turnover two plays later, as Alonzo Harris bounced outside for a 25-yard touchdown run.

FanDuel's Aaron Nagler is a big fan of Harris' game if he can iron out a few wrinkles:

Brett Hundley added some insurance points in the fourth quarter with a 10-yard touchdown pass to John Crockett.

With all of the team's shuffling on the coaching staff during the offseason, Green Bay fans will have been heartened to watch the club play so well on both sides of the ball. In addition to gaining 406 total yards on offense, the Packers held the Patriots to just 211 yards.

They will remain on the road for their next game, when they'll meet the Pittsburgh Steelers on Aug. 23.

On the other side, Garoppolo will likely continue seeing plenty of snaps throughout the preseason. He'll look to further acclimate to the QB1 role Aug. 22 against the New Orleans Saints.

A strong preseason wouldn't necessarily guarantee Garoppolo will hit the ground running in Week 1, but it would inspire more confidence among his teammates and fans.