NEW ORLEANS — Jimmy Garoppolo showed Saturday night that if the New England Patriots need him to start the first four games of the season, well, they could be just fine.
Garoppolo replaced an ineffective Tom Brady and directed five scoring drives, and Stephen Gostkowski kicked a 35-yard field goal with 14 seconds remaining as the Patriots defeated the New Orleans Saints, 26-24.
COMING UP
PRESEASON
Friday: at Carolina, 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 3: at N.Y. Giants, 7:30 p.m.
REGULAR SEASON
Sept. 10: vs. Pittsburgh, 8:30 p.m.
Garoppolo hit 28 of 33 passes for 269 yards, throwing for one touchdown and running for another.
Brady, who is waiting to see if his four-game suspension stands, played the first three series for the Patriots and failed to register a first down.
Brandin Cooks, meanwhile, caught all four passes thrown his way for 117 yards, including a 45-yard touchdown from Drew Brees, and the New Orleans Saints raced to a 21-0 lead.
Brees, a healthy scratch last week when New Orleans (0-2) lost at Baltimore, was 8 of 10 for 159 yards and two TDs, the other going to veteran tight end Ben Watson.
Garoppolo’s scoring pass traveled 24 yards to Chris Harper.
Dion Lewis added an 11-yard TD run and James White scored from 3 yards. New England finally pulled in front on Gostkowski’s winning field goal.
Garoppolo was also intercepted by Pierre Warren, who returned the ball 33 yards to the Patriots’ 15. But the Saints, with rookie quarterback Garrett Grayson in the game, settled for a short field goal and a 24-21 lead.
Garoppolo then returned to drive New England for a pair of field goals, starting with Gostkowski’s 36-yarder.
Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski suited up but didn’t play, further limiting receiving options for a team already playing without Brandon LaFell and Julian Edelman.
That may have contributed to Brady’s struggles. Harper finished as New England’s leading receiver with five catches for 69 yards, and Brandon Gibson added eight catches for 68 yards.
Cooks, a 2014 first-round draft choice, missed the final six games of last season because of a broken thumb. But he has come back strong this preseason. In New Orleans’ exhibition opener, Cooks turned a short pass into a 28-yard score.
Brees led scoring drives on all three of his series. He opened the game by marching New Orleans 61 yards, highlighted by a 29-yard pass to running back Mark Ingram, to set up Dustin Hopkins’ 27-yard field goal.
The Saints led 21-0 after tight end Josh Hill caught a 6-yard pass from backup QB Luke McCown. New Orleans might have led by more if not for three failed 2-point tries, one on a run by Khiry Robinson, the others on incomplete passes.
New England, meanwhile, could have tied it on White’s TD run, but went for a 2-point try and could not convert on a pass intended for Jonathan Krause.
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