was masterful in the ' in the 2015 NFL Kickoff on Thursday night.After watching Pittsburgh's defense throughout the game, it's fair to wonder if backup quarterback would have torched their patchwork secondary as well.Until new coordinator Keith Butler discovers a consistent pa s rush and solves i sues at the back end of his defense, the will be a flawed, unbalanced team putting too much weight on the shoulders of .We've learned not to i sue definitive, over-reactive declarations in Week 1. On this night, though, the had the look of a pretender masquerading as a contender.Here's what else we learned in the NFL's season opener:So much for the ' to jam at the line of scrimmage. Gronkowski became the first player in NFL history to deliver multiple games with at least against Pittsburgh. We never placed any stock in the struggles of the ' first-team offense last month because the didn't suit up. Going back , Brady has e sentially played like with Gronkowski on the field and when the best tight end on the planet is sidelined. Only four tight ends in history have more career touchdowns than Gronkowski's 57. He's still just 26 years old.Although fans witne sed a division rival take one on the chin, they must have had mixed feelings about seeing running back and pa s rusher land in New England as instant impact players. With serving a one-game suspension, an elusive Lewis functioned as a three-down back, totaling 120 yards on 19 touches. To put that performance into perspective, Lewis has never posted more than 99 yards from scrimmage in a single season. He was out of the league last year after breaking his leg with Cleveland in the summer of 2013. Even if Blount returns as the
Christen Miller Jersey early-down bruiser, Lewis should be locked into the pa sing-down specialist role in which Kevin Faulk, and have excelled.The early returns on the ' two August trades for cornerback and kicker have been disastrous. Boykin can't crack the rotation in a porous secondary, and Scobee shanked a couple of field goals Thursday night. On the bright side, the fifth-round pick being sent to Philadelphia won't be upgraded to a fourth-rounder if Boykin doesn't play at least 60 percent of the defensive snaps.Credit the ' front office, on the other hand, for identifying as a quality insurance policy for All-Pro tailback . Williams looked noticeably more spry than he was last season with the , bursting through holes and beating defenders to the edge for his best game since 2012.While Williams excelled as a backfield fill-in, cost the as the replacement for suspended wideout . Showing an alarming lack of awarene s, Heyward-Bey lost an easy touchdown when he knelt down to catch a pa s and left his foot on the end-zone chalk.'s streak of 33 consecutive games with at least 50 yards and five receptions is one of the most impre sive feats of the past three seasons. Even better, he now has a dozen straight games with at least 70 yards and seven receptions.Brady now owns the NFL record for most wins with one team (161), breaking a tie with Brett Favre.The league-wide paranoia surrounding the won't be dying down anytime soon. Frustrated coach Mike Tomlin confirmed after the game that coaches were forced to on their headsets due to a technical i sue in the first half. "That's always the case," Tomlin lamented. Pats coach Bill Belichick revealed that the mix-up wasn't limited to Pittsburgh's headsets, as New England "had a lot of problems" and "had to switch microphones a couple times."
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