New England Patriots

Tom Brady shook off the preseason rust with this gorgeous TD pass

Published Nov. 15, 2016 2:26 p.m. ET

Andrew Lynch

New England Patriots fans know exactly what they'll be missing during Tom Brady's four-game suspension to start this season. In Friday night's 19-17 exhibition win against the Panthers, Brady gave them a little something to remember until he makes his Week 5 return.

After Jimmy Garoppolo started at QB for New England, Brady came on in the first quarter to get a little light work in. And where Garoppolo impressed with crisp throws to the outside, Brady got straight to business. He found Aaron Dobson for 37 yards on his first pass, en route to a field goal. Then on the Pats' next series, he uncorked a throw 33 yards and right into the waiting arms of Chris Hogan for Brady's first TD pass of 2016:

Tom Brady to @ChrisHogan_15 for the 33-yard TD!

TB12 flashing Super Bowl form. #NEvsCAR https://t.co/uQv2NTPEX7
— NFL (@NFL) August 27, 2016

Brady was a bit rusty outside of that TD throw, to be fair. He finished the night 3 of 9 for 76 yards, while Garoppolo went 9 of 15 for 57 yards. Their Carolina counterpart, Cam Newton, struggled by comparison in the first half. He took a seat for a series after Brady's TD, at which point he was 6 of 14 for 55 yards and two INTs. Newton came back into the game during the final two minutes of the half, however, to get some reps in the two-minute drill and started the third quarter, finishing the night 13 of 29 for 100 yards, as well as 9 yards rushing on one attempt. Carolina failed to score on a single one of his eight first-half possessions.