In their opening game of the season, Tom Brady and the New England Patriots struggled at home against the Chiefs. The team bounced back from that disappointing loss on Sunday with a win away from home against the new orleans Saints. Here's a look at the Patriots vs. Saints game recap with top players, statistics, a standings update, and the next games coming up on the schedule for both teams.

Patriots win 36-20

At age 40, Tom Brady showed today why he's still the best in the business for the NFL quarterback class. The New England Patriots star threw 30-for-39 completed passes to rack up 447 yards and three touchdown passes.

He was sacked twice, but only lost 11 yards for the Pats. Among his top targets were Rob Gronkowski and Chris Hogan. Each of them had touchdowns and combined for nearly 200 yards receiving. Rex Burkhead also had three catches for 41 yards and a TD.

On the other side of the field, Drew Brews also had monster stats. The New Orleans Saints' QB had 356 yards and 2 touchdown passes on a 27-for-45 passing day. Michael Thomas led all Saints receivers with five catches for 89 yards, while Brandon Coleman had 82 yards and a touchdown on four catches. The Patriots held the New Orleans rushing attack to 81 yards with Adrian Peterson only picking up 26 yards on eight carries in his second game with the team.

New England dominated the time of possession today, holding the ball for over 35 minutes compared to under 25 for the home team. The Patriots made good on that time with the ball as they achieved 555 total yards of offense. It's clear that this team figured out their mistakes from Week 1 and bounced back in a big way, although the Saints may not be the best measuring stick right now for progress.

A win is a win, though, and the Patriots will certainly take it.

What's up next?

The New England Patriots evened their record at 1-1 now which should give their fans a bit more confidence moving forward. With the Buffalo Bills losing to the Panthers, it gives the Patriots a tie for the division lead. For their next game, New England returns home to host the Houston Texans next Sunday at 1 p.m.

Eastern Time.

Meanwhile, the New Orleans Saints are off to a rough start as they now fall to 0-2 for the season. The team is last in the NFC South division where the other three teams have all won at least one game. Next up for New Orleans will be a trip to play the division-leading Carolina Panthers next Sunday at 1 p.m. Eastern Time.
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