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Oh, that clever Roger Goodell.

Inadvertently, irresponsibly and completely despite himself, the commissioner created a compelling early-season drama when he pursued Tom Brady to the ends of the earth to punish the future Hall of Famer for whatever Goodell thinks Brady did in the playoffs roughly a year-and-a-half ago.

If Brady weren't suspended, last Sunday's Cardinals game certainly would have been exciting, though the result would not have been surprising. The Patriots would then have beaten the Dolphins 56-10 on Sunday, making them heavy favorites Thursday night against their minor league affiliate in Houston. Patriots fans would be thrilled. The rest of us would be snoozing.

But that crafty Goodell, playing the part of the pro wrestling-style heel/boss, took Brady out of the equation for a month. That gave us an entire July and August of Jimmy Garoppolo speculation. Then an underdog upset victory against the Cardinals instead of another season-opening Patriots coronation.

Garoppolo suffered a shoulder injury Sunday with the Patriots cruising against the Dolphins. Enter third-string rookie Jacoby Brissett. The Dolphins narrowed the gap, but they have the killer instinct of a Labradoodle, so they also allowed Brissett to lead a few late drives to ensure a 31-24 Patriots victory.

The Patriots are once again 2-0, but they are a different kind of 2-0. They're 2-0 as plucky, resilient, overachieving underdogs, not conquering giants. Deflategate made the Patriots interesting and, for everyone south of Interstate 84, kind of likable again.

Early reports from NFL.com's Mike Garafalo indicate that Garoppolo injured the AC joint in his shoulder. He is likely to miss Thursday night's game. He may miss the next one as well. After that...well, the outlook gets much brighter for the Patriots.

It's a bummer for Garoppolo, though the body of work he put up in 1.5 games all but guarantees him a lucrative future. This is a great opportunity for Brissett, a big guy with a live arm who will probably spend Thursday night force-feeding handoffs to LeGarrette Blount.

If the Patriots beat the Texans, they once again demonstrate their organizational brilliance, their "Do Your Job" perseverance, and all of those other virtues we love for great teams but sometimes take for granted (or, for the "Cheatriots" crowd, flat-out deny) with the Patriots.

If they lose, the Brady Revenge Narrative commences in three weeks.

Either way, fans win, because we crave new stories. The Patriots organization wins a little newfound admiration for doing something aside from winding Brady up and plopping him down on the field. And the NFL wins, generating intrigue and anticipation from what looked like an 18-month self-inflicted headache.

Even when Goodell's wins look like losses, they are really wins.

We should all be so lucky.