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FOXBOROUGH, MASS. -- For one man it was his first win in his first career start as an NFL quarterback. For the other, it was victory No. 247 overall and just the latest example of his greatness as a coach. Sunday night in Arizona, quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo led the Patriots to a 23-21 victory over an Arizona Cardinals team that, like New England, was on the doorstep of the Super Bowl last January.
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The third-year backup filled in for the opener with Tom Brady exiled to his four-game Deflategate suspension and, despite having to play without his top playmaker in tight end Rob Gronkowski (hamstring) and left tackle Nate Solder (hamstring), Garoppolo was the latest example of the next-man-up mantra that Bill Belichick's troops have lived by over the years.
"He's incredible. All game he went out there and made the plays he was supposed to make. We knew as a team, we believed in him," Pro Bowl safety Devin McCourty said of Garoppolo. "There was no doubt in this locker room that Jimmy could go out there and play. I'm happy he went out there, did it, and everyone can shut up now and watch the guy get better and grow and us keep improving as a team in the early part of the season."
In front of a hostile crowd on Sunday Night Football and pitted against a playmaking defense that blitzed often, Garoppolo shined just about from the start. While the 2014 second-round pick missed an open receiver on his first throw of the night, he completed four of his five throws on a 74-yard opening scoring drive that concluded with a pretty 37-yard touchdown pass to a wide-open Chris Hogan.
He would go on to complete 24 of 33 passes for 264 yards with the one score and no interceptions for a 106.1 passer rating, his lone blemish being a lost fumble on a strip sack. He led the visitors to scoring drives to open each half, and then directed a 61-yard march that would end with Stephen Gostkowski's 32-yard game-winning field goal late in the fourth-quarter.
Though Garoppolo admitted he was "amped up" before kickoff, he never looked anything other than calm on the field, doing his best Brady imitation in many ways.
"I was fired up before the game," Garoppolo said. "I get nervous before every game. Whether it's little league, college, here. I think that's a good thing, though. If you don't get nervous, it doesn't mean that much to you."
But the reality was this game meant more than any he had played - summer or regular season - over his first two years and 31 NFL pass attempts. Still, Garoppolo didn't seem to mind the jump to meaningful action.
"Nothing crazy. Once you get into it, after the first play or so, it's just football. You're just out there reacting to it, I guess. We were confident going into the game and it showed," Garoppolo said after a performance that earned him a game ball.
It's a confidence that should only grow for the young quarterback and his team moving forward. On a day when the Bills, Jets and Dolphins all lost their openers, a banged up New England team staked an early claim to first place in the AFC East.
Brady may be out, but the Patriots proved on opening night they are far from down with Garoppolo at the helm. That should serve the Patriots well the next three weeks in home games against Miami, Houston and Buffalo.
"It was a good feeling, it really was. Only one game right now. We still got a long way to go, moving on to Miami. It's a good start to the season. It really is," Garoppolo said.
"This is awesome. I don't even have words to express what this probably means to the whole team," said Hogan, who made his Patriots debut. "Coming out here, playing on the road in a tough environment against a really good team. We were able to really execute out there and just battle the entire four quarters. I am just happy for everyone in here, and Jimmy. This is huge."
--Safety Devin McCourty and tight end Martellus Bennett raised clenched fists at the conclusion of the National Anthem Sunday night in Arizona, as the Patriots teammates added their names to the growing list of players using the pregame ceremonies to send a message.
--Bill Belichick responded with a simple, "good," when asked during his postgame press conference about the poise first-time starter Jimmy Garoppolo showed in the road victory over the Cardinals. It's nothing new for the veteran coach to downplay issues with the media and focus on what his team needs to improve on, rather than what it did right in a given game.
Belichick was asked about his feelings vs. what would likely be written about his team and his young passer. He responded pretty much as expected.
"I mean, I'm really, really concerned about the story line," Belichick deadpanned. "Like, there's really nothing higher on my list than the story line tomorrow. We beat a good team on the road. We've got a lot of work to do. That's all of us: coaching, playing, offense, defense, special teams. That's what I saw in the game. But, I can't wait to read it tomorrow."
