Business wasn't boomin' to its highest degree, but Antonio Brown's Patriots debut sets up the veteran receiver to have an extremely prosperous tenure in New England.
Brown, donning his new No. 17, was able to haul in four of his eight targets for 56 yards in the Patriots 43-0 win over the Dolphins on Sunday. He saw most of his production early in the contest as Tom Brady was able to connect with Brown on his first three throws of the game for 36 yards. His longest grab of the day was a 20-yard reception in the second quarter where Brown was able to get in the end zone, his first non-Ben Roethlisberger fed touchdown of his career.
On that touchdown catch, Brown started at the numbers, was able to run up field towards the pylon, create separation and toe-tap his way in for six.
Here it is: Antonio Brown's first touchdown as a Patriot pic.twitter.com/LKGmjT4Jwy
— NFLonCBS (@NFLonCBS) September 15, 2019
As we've seen in the past with receivers entering New England's offense, it's tough to grasp. With that in mind, it was impressive to how the Patriots were already able to deploy Brown in different ways. His first catch came when he was limed up in the slot. He ran into the middle of the field and was able to connect with Brady.
Along with being able to move from the slot to outside the numbers to on the numbers, Brown also recorded a carry on an end-around in the second quarter for five yards and a first down.
"I don't think any of us had any doubts about AB's skill set," Josh Gordon said postgame.
While Brown was certainly impressive in his debut, it wasn't perfect.
Following that opening drive, there were a number of areas where inexperience in the offense was apparent. With 10:24 remaining in the third quarter, Brady targeted Brown as he streaked up toward the end zone. Judging by where Brady placed the ball, Brown looks like he should have broken his route towards the pylon.
AB and TB12's first miscommunication... pic.twitter.com/BLez1i662k
— SportsLine (@SportsLine) September 15, 2019
Brady and Brown also couldn't connect on back-to-back targets in the third quarter when New England was at the Miami 10 yard line. On the second attempt on third-and-7, Brown beat Dolphins cornerback Eric Rowe, but Brady's throw was short and forced the Patriots to line up for a field goal.
Ultimately, you can chalk those miscues up to both Brady and Brown still trying to figure each other out. Overall, this is an extremely promising debut for Brown. He was able to get open, form a foundation with Tom Brady and appears to already have a firm grasp on the playbook.
The fact that this effort on Sunday could be AB's floor is a scary proposition for the rest of the league.