Ryan Mallet finds Brian Tyms, Patriots lead 42-28 (GIF)

After both star quarterback Tom Brady and rookie Jimmy Garoppolo had strong performances, fourth-year pro Ryan Mallett was looking to do the same for the New England Patriots’ [elated-category]

Brady, the future Hall-of-Famer, finished eight-of-10 with 81 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Garoppolo went six-of-12 for 72 yards with two touchdowns. He struggled some but overall, it was an impressive night for the second round pick from Eastern Illinois. What was alarming for Mallett wasn’t that Garoppolo had a solid outing, it was that Garoppolo entered the game before Mallett and took reps with the number one offense. Perhaps, the Patriots simply wanted to see what he could do but it also could signal Garoppolo is giving Mallett a run for his money.

After a poor outing in the Patriots’ 23-6 loss to the Washington Redskins last week (Mallett went five-of-12 for 55 yards), he needed to show up. Mallett did just that, completing four of his first five passes for 61 yards. He led two touchdown drives, one in which they went 80 yards in six plays and a second that saw them go 28 yards and three plays after a fumble. The drive was capped by  a 17-yard touchdown pass from Mallett to Brian Tyms.

Tyms also had a fantastic catch last week.

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