(Sports Network) - Tom Brady didn't resemble his record-breaking form of two years ago but did conjure up two fourth-quarter touchdown drives in his return to meaningful NFL action, leading the Patriots to a 25-24 comeback win over the Bills in an entertaining season opener between the AFC East rivals. Though inconsistent for three quarters, Brady hit Benjamin Watson for a pair of TDs in the waning minutes, the last a 16-yard strike occurring with 50 seconds remaining in the game after Buffalo's Leodis McKelvin fumbled a kickoff return. Brady returned to regular- season action for the first time since suffering reported tears of his left ACL and MCL in the season opener last season. The perennial Pro Bowl QB finished with 378 yards and two scores on 39-of-53 throws, also tossing an interception that was returned for a touchdown by Aaron Schobel. Randy Moss had 12 catches for 141 yards, Wes Welker also hauled in 12 for 93, and Watson had six for 77 and two TDs for New England (1-0), which missed out on the playoffs last year despite an 11-5 record behind backup signal-caller Matt Cassel. Fred Jackson, starting in place of the suspended Marshawn Lynch, caught five balls for 83 yards and a touchdown and picked up 57 more on 15 carries for Buffalo (1-0), which finished 7-9 last year for the third year in a row. This marked their 12th straight loss to the Patriots. Trent Edwards threw for two scores and 212 yards on 15-of-25 attempts, orchestrating an offense that fired coordinator Turk Schonert less than two weeks ago. Alex Van Pelt took over the reins of the offense and had the Patriots guessing all night despite ineffective outputs from offseason acquisition Terrell Owens (two catches, 46 yards) and fellow receiver Lee Evans (three grabs, 25 yards).

Final Score: San Diego 24, Oakland 20

Oakland, CA (Sports Network) - Darren Sproles finished off a long drive with a five-yard scoring run with 18 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, sending San Diego to a 24-20 win over Oakland, as the Chargers beat the Raiders for a 12th straight time. The nine-play, 89-yard drive came after JaMarcus Russell gave Oakland the lead with 2:34 left on a 57-yard connection to rookie Louis Murphy on a 4th-and-14 play. Philip Rivers connected on 24-of-36 passes for 252 yards with a touchdown and was picked off once for the Chargers (1-0), who are coming off their third straight AFC West title. LaDainian Tomlinson ran 13 times for 55 yards and a TD, but was on the sidelines when Sproles ran nearly untouched up the middle on a draw play for the go-ahead score. Chargers head coach Norv Turner said Tomlinson rolled his ankle during the game. Russell finished 12-of-30 passing for 208 yards, but was picked off twice. That included one to Antoine Cason on a prayer pass in the waning seconds. Russell also had to leave for a short period in the fourth quarter after Raiders running back Michael Bush and Chargers linebacker Shawne Merriman landed on his leg. The Raiders (0-1) lost their seventh straight season opener.







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