Tom Brady makes his preseason debut, and the results are mixed

CHARLOTTE — Tom Brady appeared unsure. Antsy, even.

For the longtime New England Patriots starting quarterback, this was unfamiliar. Coming off the bench, that is.

For just the second time since Week 2 of the 2001 season, Brady entered a game as a backup, when healthy. In Friday night’s third preseason game, a 19-17 Patriots victory against the Carolina Panthers, coach Bill Belichick opted to start backup Jimmy Garoppolo, who will replace Brady in the first four weeks of the regular season while Brady serves his Deflategate suspension.

So Brady paced. He fidgeted. He looked like a man who didn’t know what to do.

But when he did make it onto the field, with 1:56 left to play in the first quarter, there was some good ... and some bad.

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Brady completed three of his nine passes for 76 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions. Brady’s four possessions yielded a field goal, touchdown, missed field goal and punt.

The Patriots did not make Brady available to comment to reporters.

The highlight of his night was a perfectly-thrown ball that receiver Chris Hogan caught in stride over Panthers cornerback Bené Benwikere for a 33-yard score. Brady altered the play at the line of scrimmage after seeing a match-up advantage.

"Carolina doesn’t play a lot of single-high coverage," Belichick said. "They do it a few times a game. They play a little bit of quarters coverage, so when you get those opportunities, we talk about trying to go up on them and we did a couple of times. That’s one we hit. It was good to see us take advantage and convert that."

The Patriots attempted a two-point conversion, but Brady’s pass intended for Aaron Dobson was too high. Earlier in the game, Brady also zipped another pass too high, this one intended for tight end Martellus Bennett in the end zone.

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To end the uneven performance, Brady fired a throw that should have been intercepted and was then sacked. Garoppolo returned to the field with 2:07 left to play in the second quarter.

"We thought that was the best way to play it," Belichick said of the quarterback rotation.

"It was different," Garoppolo said.

Garoppolo completed nine of his 15 passes for only 57 yards, and New England’s offense sputtered when he played, a performance he said was filled with "ups and downs."

Belichick told Garoppolo of the decision to start him earlier on Friday.

The only other time Brady came off the bench when healthy since 2001 was in Week 4 of the 2014 preseason, when he participated in one play, serving as the holder on a point after touchdown.

It appeared to affect Brady on the sideline.

When Garoppolo and the Patriots came off the field to meet with offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, Brady appeared to purposefully keep his distance.

Instead, he ambled from position group to position group. He stretched. He even ventured down toward the defense. He tried to stay warm and flung passes to third-string quarterback Jacoby Brissett. Often, he stood apart from the rest of his teammates and watched alone.

"I wouldn’t say I try to stay away from him," Garoppolo said. "We’re always interacting, all the quarterbacks. We’re talking on the sidelines, stuff like that. 'What did you see? What did I see?' type of thing. It’s a healthy relationship that we have. Obviously, he’s not going to be here once the regular season comes. You just have to go about your business as you usually would. To start thinking about all that other stuff is just going cloud your head and get you all confused."

When Garoppolo and the rest of the offense returned to the field for the second drive of the game, Brady walked over and sat alone on the metal bench that had just cleared. Strength coach Moses Cabrera came by, slapped his shoulder pads and said a few quick words. Cabrera then left Brady alone.

Once Brady’s night ended, however, he appeared much more relaxed on the sideline and interacted more with his teammates.

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All the while, a Panthers fan seated in the first row over Brady’s right shoulder held up a sign that read, in black Sharpie: "BRADY how many balls can u deflate in 4 WEEKS."

The NFL’s four-game suspension stems from allegations that Brady participated in an "intentional scheme" to deflate game footballs prior to the 2015 AFC Championship Game.

Brady did not play in the team’s first preseason game and missed the second after he suffered a pre-game cut to his thumb when he mishandled scissors in the locker room. This is likely the last Brady will play in the preseason, as the majority of starters typically rest in the fourth and final exhibition contest.

Once the regular season begins, Brady will be forbidden from participating in any team activities until the conclusion of New England’s Week 4 game against the Buffalo Bills.

Brady will be eligible to return Week 5 at the Cleveland Browns.

Follow Lorenzo Reyes @LorenzoGReyes.