The ongoing circus surrounding Antonio Brown couldn’t derail a second straight overpowering performance by the Patriots to open the 2019 season.

Brown hauled in a touchdown pass in his New England debut — and the Pats defense shut down the historically awful Dolphins — in a 43-0 blanking in Miami.

The Patriots and the NFL allowed Brown to suit up despite a civil lawsuit filed last week by his former trainer alleging the four-time Pro Bowl receiver sexually assaulted her on three occasions. Brown’s accuser, Britney Taylor, is scheduled to meet with NFL investigators on Monday. ESPN reported Brown declined to settle the lawsuit for $2 million last Sunday, leading Taylor’s attorneys to file the suit two days later.

According to NFL Network, Patriots owner Robert Kraft would not have signed Brown following his release this month by Oakland had he been aware of the allegations against the former Pittsburgh wideout.

Brown, whose locker was cleared out after Sunday’s game, was targeted eight times by Tom Brady. He caught four passes for 54 yards (all in the first half), including a 20-yard back-shoulder touchdown reception early in the second quarter for a 13-0 New England lead.

“Antonio Brown is out of the locker room, his locker cleared out and the name plate taken down, before media was allowed into the room,” the Boston Globe’s Ben Volin tweeted shortly after Sunday’s game ended.

The 42-year-old Brady also flipped a short TD toss to James White and scored another on a quarterback sneak, while Sony Michel rushed for 85 yards and a touchdown for the Pats, who had torched Pittsburgh last Sunday night, 33-3, for a 76-3 two-week aggregate score.

During his postgame press conference, Brady didn’t address Brown’s off-field situation or the organization’s decision to let him play, saying “I don’t make any of those decisions. I just show up and play and do my job.”

Belichick similarly said he’d only “talk about the game“ and he’s “not going to say anymore” about Brown’s off-field situation.

“It’s one week. It’s good to have him out there. But there’s a lot of things we can work on,” Belichick added.

The polar opposite of the defending champs have been the Dolphins, who’ve been outscored 102-10 over their first two games, both at home. That staggering figure also includes a 59-10 crushing by Baltimore in Week 1. The most points the Dolphins previously had allowed in their first two games of any season was 71 in 1968.

Ryan Fitzpatrick threw two interceptions that were returned for touchdowns, by Stephon Gilmore (54 yards) and Jamie Collins (69). Miami’s offense had totaled just 38 total yards of offense through three quarters.

Josh Rosen, who mopped up in the fourth quarter for the second straight week, could start next Sunday against Dallas, according to the Miami Herald.

Saints Go Marching Home

A terrible call in the Saints’ previous game against the Rams in last season’s NFC title game cost New Orleans a trip to Super Bowl LIII. Sunday’s meeting might have cost them their franchise quarterback for a while.

Drew Brees suffered an injured right thumb on a hit by Aaron Donald late in the first quarter and was replaced by Teddy Bridgewater in the Saints’ 27-9 loss in Los Angeles.

Brees underwent X-rays on his thumb after the game and said he will see a hand specialist this week.

“I’m concerned,” Brees said. “I hope it’s not significant.”

The Rams also briefly lost Donald, their All-Pro defensive tackle, to a back injury later in the first half. But the reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year returned to the field just before intermission.

How ’bout them Cowboys

Dallas posted its second straight convincing NFC East win, following up a Week 1 rout of the Giants with a 31-21 victory in Washington.

Dak Prescott tossed three more touchdown passes — for a total of seven in two games — and Ezekiel Elliott ran for 111 yards and a score for the Cowboys, who face lowly Miami in Week 3.

“Dak instills confidence in us that he thinks we’re going to go down and score every time,” said wide receiver Amari Cooper, who caught a 10-yard scoring throw in the third quarter. “Every time we’re down there we feel like we’re gonna go the distance.”

Jets 2015 second-round pick Devin Smith, considered a bust in New York with only 10 receptions amid various injuries over two seasons before he was cut in 2016, caught a 51-yard touchdown pass from Prescott for the Cowboys.

Grin and Bear it

The craziest finish of the day came in Denver, where Bears kicker Eddy Pineiro drilled a 53-year field goal as time expired for a shocking 16-14 win over the Broncos.

Joe Flacco’s 7-yard touchdown pass to Emmanuel Sanders with 31 seconds remaining and a two-point conversion pass to Sanders gave the Broncos a 14-13 lead.

The Broncos initially lined up to go for the two-point conversion before switching to a potential game-tying extra point following a delay-of-game penalty. Kicker Brandon McManus pushed the kick wide, but ex-Jet Buster Skrine was offside on the play, and Denver coach Vic Fangio sent his offense back onto the field for another two-point try to take the one-point lead.

With the aid of an iffy roughing-the-passer call against Bradley Chubb on the final drive, Mitchell Trubisky moved the Bears to the Denver 35-yard line with one second remaining on the clock before Pineiro connected for Chicago’s first win.

Earlier in the day, Jaguars running back Leonard Fournette had been stuffed on a two-point conversion call going for the win by Jacksonville coach Doug Marrone in a 13-12 loss to Houston. Rookie QB Gardner Minshew had thrown a 4-yard scoring pass to D.J. Chark with 36 seconds remaining.

Bad Beats

The Chargers were in position to at least attempt a game-tying field goal, inside the 30-yard line, but Philip Rivers was picked off by Darius Slay in the end zone with 1:03 remaining in the Lions’ 13-10 win over San Diego in Detroit.

The Hurt Locker

In addition to Brees, Ben Roethlisberger departed Pittsburgh’s 28-26 loss to Seattle in the third quarter with an elbow injury. Big Ben was slated to undergo an MRI exam.

San Francisco offensive tackle Joe Staley suffered a broken leg, and Patriots tackle Isaiah Wynn departed their win over Miami with a foot injury. Running back Derrius Guice (knee) was sidelined for Washington. Giants wide receiver Cody Latimer suffered a concussion Sunday against Buffalo.

Post Patterns

Titans offensive lineman David Quessenberry, who missed three seasons after being diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin lymphoma in 2014, caught a touchdown pass as an eligible tackle from Marcus Mariota in Tennessee’s 19-17 loss to Indianapolis. … Redskins running back Adrian Peterson dressed after being inactive last week. The 13-year veteran’s 1-yard touchdown run in the second quarter was his 107th career rushing TD, surpassing Jim Brown for fourth on the NFL’s all-time list. … Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph, a third-round pick in 2018 out of Oklahoma State, made his NFL debut in place of Roethlisberger, completing 12 of 19 passes for 112 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. … Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson’s third scoring strike of the day, a 28-yarder to rookie DK Metcalf, put Seattle (2-0) ahead by nine with 7:15 remaining. … Chiefs wide receiver Demarcus Robinson had a productive day with Tyreek Hill (shoulder) sidelined, catching six passes for 174 yards and two touchdowns from Patrick Mahomes. … Colts quarterback Jacoby Brissett threw a 4-yard touchdown to T.Y. Hilton with 4:38 remaining for Indy’s first win since Andrew Luck’s retirement. … Colts kicker Adam Vinatieri, the NFL’s all-time leading scorer and the league’s oldest player (46), missed two more extra points one week after missing two field-goal attempts and an extra point. … Chargers running back Austin Ekeler scored his fourth touchdown in two games in San Diego’s loss to Detroit.

Three Stars

1. Patrick Mahomes, Chiefs quarterback

The reigning league MVP threw for 443 yards and four touchdowns, with all 28 points coming in the second quarter in a 28-10 win over Oakland.

2. Jimmy Garoppolo, 49ers quarterback

Jimmy G led San Francisco to at least 30 points in each of its first two games of a season for the first time since 1998, throwing for 297 yards and three scores in a 41-17 win over Cincinnati.

3. Lamar Jackson, Ravens quarterback

Jackson built on his five-TD performance in Week 1, throwing for 272 yards and two more scores. He also ran for 120 yards, as Baltimore improved to 2-0 with a 23-17 win over No. 1-overall pick Kyler Murray (349 passing yards) and Arizona.

Quote of The Day

“I can’t say we were yelling how much we love each other, but we definitely weren’t MF’ing each other or anything.”

— Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers on an animated sideline conversation with first-year head coach Matt LaFleur during a 21-16 win over Minnesota.

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