It was a night for returns, as safety Rodney Harrison, center Dan Koppen, and defensive lineman Richard Seymour all played for the first time this preseason. Each started, although Harrison and Koppen didn't play the entire first half. And inside linebacker Junior Seau, who signed Aug. 18, played his first game with the Patriots, starting alongside Mike Vrabel.
``It was good to see some players back out there that hadn't played in a while; that was encouraging," said Belichick, his team 2-1 in the preseason and set to visit the Giants Thursday. ``I thought our team executed a bit better than we did last week. We took a step forward."
Cornerback Ellis Hobbs said having Harrison on the field for the first time since last September, when he tore three ligaments in his left knee in Pittsburgh, sparked the entire defense.
``It feels good, there was a lot of talking and a lot of clanging of the pads," Hobbs said. ``Halfway through the second quarter, I told him I hadn't heard any pads [crunch] yet, and as soon as I was about to say it, a scud missile was flying by me just hitting the pile. It just feels good to have him back there."
Offensively, Brady finished 17 of 30 for 231 yards and one touchdown. He entered the game having directed four long scoring drives in the team's first two exhibition games, and put points on the board in five of the seven marches he led last night. Again playing without holdout receiver Deion Branch, Brady's favorite target was tight end Benjamin Watson, who had a team-high eight catches for 97 yards, including a 6-yard touchdown.
Playing their traditional 3-4 alignment, the Patriots limited the Redskins to 212 yards (90 coming in the first half) and totaled seven sacks. The Redskins had only eight first downs, with the Patriots holding more than a 12-minute edge in time of possession (36:08-23:52).
