Brady Throws Four Touchdowns In Victory Over Pittsburgh

Whether sprinting out of the tunnel for warm-ups, watching former teammates and the Patriots' owner carrying Lombardi trophies or tearing apart the Steelers, Tom Brady relished every moment of this NFL season opener.

"It was a pretty special night," said Brady, who threw four touchdowns, three of them to favorite target Rob Gronkowski, Thursday in a 28-21 victory over undermanned and generally ineffective Pittsburgh. "I was excited. Our whole team was excited. We haven't had one of these games in a long time."

It was as if Brady had never been away. Of course, he never really was, and with Deflategate behind him, the star quarterback was back to his unstoppable self as he went 25-of-32 for 288 yards.

"It's always fun being out there and getting an opportunity to go play," said Brady, whose 161 victories with one franchise are tops by a starting quarterback in NFL history. He set a team record with 19 straight completions, and he logged his 23rd game with four or more touchdown passes, which is tied with Brett Favre for third all-time.

With his four-game league suspension overturned by a federal judge one week ago, the three-time Super Bowl MVP was in midseason -- or, rather, postseason -- form. He led drives of 90 and 64 yards for scores on passes to Gronkowski. Gronkowski also recovered a fumble by running back Dion Lewis at the Pittsburgh 1 before his final TD.

Sunday, September 13 Schedule (All Times Central)

Green Bay at Chicago, 12:00 p.m.

Kansas City at Houston, 12:00 p.m.

Cleveland at New York, 12:00 p.m

Indianapolis at Buffalo, 12:00 p.m

Miami at Washington, 12:00 p.m.

Carolina at Jacksonville, 12:00 p.m.

Seattle at St. Louis, 12:00 p.m.

New Orleans at Arizona, 3:05 p.m.

Detroit at San Diego, 3:05 p.m.

Tennessee at Tampa Bay, 3:25 p.m.

Cincinnati at Oakland, 3:25 p.m.

Baltimore at Denver, 3:25 p.m.

New York at Dallas, 7:30 p.m.