Garoppolo injury leaves Pats with quarterback question

The New England Patriots could be looking for "Plan C" after quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo -- a stand-in for suspended superstar Tom Brady -- suffered a right shoulder injury on Sunday.

After Garoppolo's departure late in the first half, the Patriots nearly blew a 31-3 lead, but held on for a 31-24 National Football League victory over the Miami Dolphins.

Garoppolo, starting his second straight game as Brady serves his long-delayed four-game Deflategate suspension, had already thrown three touchdown passes when he was hurt with 4:02 remaining in the second quarter.

Rookie Jacoby Brissett made his NFL debut and led the Patriots to a touchdown on the first drive of the second half, with LeGarrette Blount scoring on a nine-yard touchdown run.

New England later intercepted a Miami pass in the end zone with two seconds left to seal the win, their second in as many weeks in the young National Football League season.

Now, however, the Pats face a quick turnaround with a Thursday night home game against the Houston Texans.

"We'll just take it day by day," Patriots coach Bill Belichick said amid reports from multiple media outlets that Garoppolo could miss six weeks.

- Vikings open new stadium with win -

The Minnesota Vikings made their first regular-season contest at their new billion-dollar stadium a win as new quarterback Sam Bradford piloted them to a 17-14 win over the Green Bay Packers.

Bradford, acquired from Philadelphia at the end of the pre-season after Teddy Bridgewater was lost to a knee injury, threw for 286 yards and two touchdowns in his first start for Minnesota.

It wasn't all good news, however, as star running back Adrian Peterson finished with just 19 yards and left the game in the third quarter with a right knee injury.

There was nothing to dim the joy in Los Angeles, where the first NFL game in the city since 1994 saw the newly returned Rams grind out a 9-3 victory over the Seattle Seahawks.

The low-scoring contest was the latest milestone in a homecoming confirmed in January, when NFL owners approved the Rams' return to Los Angeles from St. Louis.

- Ravens rally -

The Cleveland Browns, who lost starting quarterback Robert Griffin III with a shoulder injury in their season opener, could be down to their third QB option after Josh McCown, starting in place of Griffin, hurt his left shoulder in a 25-20 loss to the Baltimore Ravens.

McCown, hurt in the first quarter, didn't miss a snap but was clearly in pain as the Browns were unable to stop the Ravens from surging back from a 20-0 deficit for the victory.

In Denver, Von Miller sacked Indianapolis quarterback Andrew Luck and forced a fumble that team-mate Shane Ray returned 15 yards for a touchdown as the Broncos defeated the Colts 34-20.

The Carolina Panthers, beaten by the Broncos in last season's Super Bowl, notched a decisive 46-27 victory over the San Francisco 49ers thanks to four touchdown passes from quarterback Cam Newton.

Newton completed 24 of 40 for 353 yards as the Panthers bumped their franchise-record home winning streak to 14 games.

The Pittsburgh Steelers also continued an impressive record of dominance in home openers. Ben Roethlisberger threw for three touchdowns in the Steelers' 24-17 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals. Pittsburgh have won 13 of their past 15 home openers.

A year after the New York Giants and New Orleans Saints combined to score 101 points, the Giants edged the Saints 16-13 on Josh Brown's 23-yard field goal as time expired.

The Saints got a scare when cornerback PJ Williams was hit on the head twice in a first-quarter tackle attempt. He was taken from the field with his neck stabilized, with team officials later saying he suffered a concussion.

Although it wasn't the shoot-out of last season, Saints quarterback Drew Brees's 263 passing yards took his career total to 61,589 yards. That moved him ahead of former Dolphins great Dan Marino for third place on the all-time list behind only Peyton Manning and Brett Favre.

Source: AFP