Jacoby Brissett Leads Patriots To 31-24 Win Over Dolphins After Jimmy Garoppolo’s First-Half Injury

Jacoby Brissett, the New England Patriots’ third-string rookie quarterback, was thrust into action Sunday after Jimmy Garoppolo left his team’s 31-24 home victory over the Miami Dolphins with a right shoulder injury in the second quarter.

Jacoby Brissett Leads Patriots To 31-24 Win Over Dolphins

It was the Patriots’ (2-0) eighth consecutive home victory over the Dolphins (0-2). New England suffered another blow at quarterback with Tom Brady serving his four-game “Deflate-gate” suspension.

Garoppolo’s injury came incredibly quickly. On third down with under five minutes remaining in the first half, he was chased out of the pocket and got a completion to Malcolm Mitchell. Garoppolo was taken down by his shoulder by Miami linebacker Kiko Alonso. The quarterback finished with three, first-half touchdown passes.

Garoppolo initially got up before going down to one knee and being attended to by the training staff. The Boston Herald reported his injury as a sprained AC joint. Garoppolo finished his day 18 of 27 for 234 yards and the three scores.

Coach Bill Belichick, unsurprisingly, was reluctant to give details about the injury during the post-game press conference, saying just as little about Brissett’s performance.

“He’s been working for this for a long time,” Belichik said when asked about Brissett. “He did a good job in a pressure situation.”

With New England up 21-0 at the start of the second half, Brissett led the Patriots to a touchdown on their first possession of the third quarter. The 23-year-old rookie– a third-round 2016 Draft pick out of North Carolina State– was 6 of 9 for 92 yards. LeGarrette Blount rushed 29 times for 123 total yards and a touchdown. Martellus Bennett also had five catches for 114 yards and a touchdown.

The Dolphins, who defeated the Patriots in Miami in last season’s finale, struggled to figure out New England’s offense, especially early on, and trailed 24-0 as they were stymied by three turnovers.

Miami quarterback Ryan Tannehill cut a 31-3 deficit to 31-24 with 6:06 remaining in the game.

Tannehill didn’t complete a pass until the second quarter as New England’s defensive line pressured him into quick throws. He was intercepted by linebacker Jamie Collins late in the first half, and then again in the end zone by Duron Harmon in the last few seconds of the game.

The New England offense only managed one field goal.

The Patriots will next host the Houston Texans on Thursday, and will surely need to make decisions quickly before then. When asked what the team would do, Belichick merely said: “we’ll do whatever we think is best for the team.”

The team may thus be forced to sign a veteran backup even if Garoppolo can recover in time to play. The Patriots’ lack of depth at the position led to wide receiver Julian Edelman serving as the backup to Brissett in the second half. A former Kent State quarterback, Edelman has only attempted one pass as a professional, which went for a 51-yard touchdown by Danny Amendola in the playoffs against the Baltimore Ravens two years ago.

Edelman starred at quarterback for three years at Kent State, and was the team’s leading passer and rusher during his senior year. He finished his college career just shy of 5,000 passing yards.

Shortly after Garoppolo exited Sunday’s game, former Patriots executive Mike Lombardi tweeted that Edelman would be the next man up.

The Dolphins will next host the Cleveland Browns on Sunday for Week 3.

FOXBORO, MA – SEPTEMBER 18: Jacoby Brissett #7 of the New England Patriots communicates before a play against the Miami Dolphins during the second half at Gillette Stadium on September 18, 2016 in Foxboro, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)