The Sports Xchange

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — A week after hammering the NFL in court, Tom Brady did the same thing to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

“It was a pretty special night, so I was excited,” Brady said after throwing four touchdown passes, three to tight end Rob Gronkowski, while powering the New England Patriots to a 28-21 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers in the opening game of the NFL season Thursday night.

On Sept. 3, Brady had his four-game Deflategate suspension overturned by Judge Richard Berman in a Manhattan courtroom.

Brady came out for pregame jog and pumped his fist at a crowd that would chant his name on several occasions throughout the game, which was played after the Patriots unveiled their fourth Super Bowl banner. Had the suspension been upheld, the club was prepared to hoist a different banner, one with Brady’s No. 12 on it.

However, he played — and he completed a franchise-record 19 consecutive passes, three for touchdowns, on four scoring drives. After the streak ended, Brady hit Gronkowski with a 1-yarder with 9:20 left to stem a Pittsburgh rally.

Gronkowski had his third three-TD game, making five catches for 94 yards. Wide receiver Julian Edelman finished with 11 catches for 97 yards. Both of them sat out the preseason, Edelman with an injury and Gronkowski because he just isn’t sent out for exhibitions.

After the game, Edelman called Gronkowski “a beast.”

Brady, who set an NFL record with his 161st victory with one team, finished 25 of 32 for 288 yards and his 23rd career four-touchdown game.

What we learned about the Patriots:

1. The Patriots, like many other teams, don’t need a fullback. They had one, and a good one, in James Develin, but he was lost for the season with a broken leg and wasn’t replaced. There were times tight ends lined up in the backfield and even a defensive lineman, but the Patriots will be fine without a fullback.

2. You really don’t want to tick Tom Brady off, which is what NFL commissioner Roger Goodell did with the long suspension/court battle. Remember what Brady and his offense did in 2007 after Spygate? Brady came out on Thursday night and threw four touchdown passes and no interceptions. Look for his numbers to build, although the next opponent, Rex Ryan’s Buffalo Bills, will provide more resistance than he faced Thursday.

3. The home crowd isn’t about to forget what it perceives was done to Brady and their team. They chanted “Brady, Brady” before the game even started and “Where is Roger?” for the commissioner, who probably did the right thing by breaking tradition and not attending opening night.

Etc.

–TE Rob Gronkowski doesn’t play in preseason games. He showed again Thursday night he doesn’t have to, as he made five catches for 94 yards and three touchdowns. He also recovered a fumble by his team at the Pittsburgh goal line and even recovered the onside kick on the last play of the game. “The banner is pretty awesome,” he said after the game. “We had a great team last year, but now it’s a new year. It’s a new focus, and what’s so sweet was getting the win tonight. It wouldn’t have been that great of a night (with a loss). Nothing makes it better than having a win when you play football in the NFL.”

–QB Tom Brady against the Steelers? A scary thing. In his past four games against Pittsburgh, he is 102 of 143 with 13 touchdowns and no interceptions. After his league and court battle, he had to be pumped up for this game, and he responded by producing a 143.8 passer rating on 25-of-32 passing for 288 yards with four touchdowns and no picks.

–C David Andrews was one of eight rookies who played for the Patriots in the opener, two of them starters on the offensive line — which employed three at the same time on several occasions. “I thought they hung in there — the offensive linemen and defense with Geneo (Grissom) and Malcolm (Brown),” coach Bill Belichick said. “I know there were some errors, but I think they competed well. I think they hung in there. Hopefully, we can build on that and get better.”