slides: Patriots Come Back to Beat Saints 26-24

Sunday, August 23, 2015

Joe Calabro, GoLocalWorcester Sports Team

Jimmy Garoppolo

The New England Patriots defeated the New Orleans Saints 26-24 in preseason game number two on Saturday night in New Orleans. The Patriots move to 1-1 in the preseason.

Trailing 24-23 with two minutes to go, Jimmy Garoppolo led the Patriots down the field on a five play, 28 yard drive resulting in a Stephen Gostkowski game winning field goal to give New England the lead for the first time and for good.

The Patriots trailed 21-0 after a Josh Hill touchdown catch in the second quarter before finally getting on the board before the half.

Garoppolo found Chris Harper in the endzone with time winding down in the first half in a drive that totaled six plays and covered 65 yards. Garoppolo went 6 for 6 on that drive and proceeded to lead New England to four more scoring drives and a come from behind win.

The Patriots return to action on Friday, August 28 when they visit the Carolina Panthers in the third preseason game. Kick off is set for 7:30 p.m.

For more on the Patriots win against the Saints see the five takeaways slideshow below.

See Five Takeaways From Patriots vs Saints Below

Related Slideshow: 5 Takeaways From Patriots vs Saints Preseason Game

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Brady Plays

Tom Brady started the game and played the first three offensive series, going 2 of 5 for 13 yards resulting in three straight three and outs.

This comes after a week where Brady threw for 13 touchdowns and shredded the Saints defense during two joint practice sessions in West Virginia.

Keep in mind, Brady was without Edelman, Gronkowski, Lafell and Dobson during this preseason game.

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Running Back Battle

LeGarrette Blount and Jonas Gray are likely locks for two running back spots going into the season. However, the battle for that third spot is heating up and it looks like it will come down to Dion Lewis and James White.

Against the Saints, Lewis had 3 rushes for 12 yards, including an impressive touchdown run.

James White had 9 carries for 23 yards and a touchdown.

This will be a battle to watch as camp and the preseason rolls on.

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Offensive Line

The Patriots offensive line is becoming a bit of a concern through two preseason games. Things got a little better against the Saints as the game went on but early, the Patriots running backs could not get anything going and were shut down in the back field on a couple of occasions.

The o-line could not open up any holes for Blount or anyone else and even Nate Solder was getting beat which is not what your looking for.

However, some positives were that they did not allow any sacks and the running game got better as the game went on.

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Devin McCourty

The Patriots secondary is under the microscope this preseason after letting Revis and Browner go in the preseason.

The Patriots defensive starters played the entire first quarter and in that time, Devin McCourty was playing cornerback opposite Malcolm Butler. Patrick Chung and Duran Harmon played the two safety positions.

McCourty entered the league as a cornerback and moved to safety where he has played over the last couple of seasons.

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Jimmy Garoppolo

After a shaky first preseason game, Jimmy Garoppolo looked really good in this game. Garoppolo went 28 of 33 for 269 yards, two touchdowns and one interception.

Two drives stand out.

The end of the first half with about a minute to go when Garoppolo got the Patriots down the field and into the endzone. Garoppolo went 5 of 5 for 65 yards and a touchdown pass to Chris Harper. Clock management was great and Garoppolo made the right decisions at the right time.
The end of the game with the Patriots trailing 24-23 with about 2 minutes left. Garoppolo again moved the team up the field and into field goal range. Gostkowski kicked the game winner and the Patriots win 26-24.

An overall good night for Jimmy Garoppolo