THE NEW ENGLAND Patriots and San Francisco 49ers extended their unbeaten starts to the season on Sunday, and are the only unbeaten teams left as the NFL’s regular season reached the halfway point.
On Sunday, Tom Brady shepherded the Patriots to a 27-13 win over the hapless Cleveland Browns at Foxborough to leave New England on top of the AFC East with a perfect 8-0 record.
Brady threw two touchdowns and 259 yards, connecting with favoured receiver Julian Edelman twice for scores in the first and third quarters.
In Santa Clara, meanwhile, Brady’s former understudy Jimmy Garoppolo led the 49ers in a 51-13 rout of the Carolina Panthers at Levi’s Stadium.
Garoppolo threw for two touchdowns and 175 yards in a game which saw San Francisco’s defense dominate once more.
Panthers quarterback Kyle Allen was picked off three times and sacked seven times in a bruising outing. The 49ers now lead the NFC West with seven wins out of seven.
Elsewhere, Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt is done for the year after he was injured in a 27-24 win over the Oakland Raiders.
The Texans fear that Watt tore his pectoral muscle. Before he left the game, Watt had three tackles, a tackle for a loss and a pass defended.
In the earlier games, Drew Brees made a trouble-free return from injury on Sunday as the New Orleans Saints romped to victory over the hapless Arizona Cardinals while in the London fixture, the LA Rams recorded a 24-10 win over the winless Bengals.
NFL Sunday late results
- Redskins 9 – 19 Vikings
- Raiders 24-27 Texans
- Panthers 13-51 49ers
- Browns 13-27 Patriots
- Packers 31-24 Chiefs
