Standing tall

The defense played great and gave us a lot of opportunities

TOM Brady steers New England to a sizzling start in the NFL. AFP

LOS ANGELES (AFP) — Tom Brady passed three touchdowns and 341 yards as the New England Patriots began the defense of their Super Bowl title with a 33-3 rout of Pittsburgh in a bruising opening Sunday of the NFL season.

The 42-year-old Brady completed 24 of 36 passes and improved to 6-0 at home against the Steelers.

He threw two touchdown passes to Phillip Dorsett and one to Josh Gordon while Stephen Gostkowski added four field goals.

“The defense played great and gave us a lot of opportunities,” said Brady. “We made some big plays on the pass game.”

The Patriots, who held a pregame ceremony to celebrate their championship, started quickly leading 7-0 after the first quarter and 20-0 at halftime.

Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was 27 of 47 for 276 passing yards, and an interception.

The win comes just days before the Patriots add Antonio Brown to their lineup.

New England reportedly has guaranteed the wide receiver $9 million this season.

Brown, a four-time All-Pro and one of the league’s most dynamic pass catchers, is not eligible to be signed officially until Monday.

Brady said he hopes the Patriots can find a receiver role for Brown. “It is about getting him up to speed,” Brady said.

“He is a great player and we are excited to have him. I played against him for a long time.”

“We will try to incorporate him into the lineup the best way we can.”

Elsewhere, reigning Most Valuable Player Patrick Mahomes threw for 378 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Kansas City Chiefs to a 40-26 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Sammy Watkins grabbed nine passes for a career-high 198 yards and three touchdowns, taking over as the top target for Chiefs quarterback Mahomes after Tyreek Hill departed with a shoulder injury days after he inked a three-year, $54 million deal last week.

Hill was later transported to hospital with what Chiefs head trainer Rick Burkholder called a “sternoclavicular joint injury, which is where your clavicle comes into your sternum.”

The news was possibly worse for the Jaguars, who lost quarterback Nick Foles to a broken left clavicle less than a quarter into his debut.

Jaguars coach Doug Marrone said there was no timetable for Foles’s return after surgery expected on Monday.

“It was unfortunate,” Marrone said. “You would really like to see how the game would’ve worked itself out with Nick.”

In his absence, rookie sixth-round pick Gardner Minshew threw for 275 yards and two touchdowns in an outstanding debut that still wasn’t enough.

“I was really proud of him for stepping up,” Foles said after the game, talking to reporters with his arm in a sling. “And I’m going to be here to help him any way possible.”