The long-awaited debut for Antonio Brown with the New England Patriots happened today. After an full offseason of drama and a short tenure with the Oakland Raiders, Brown took his talents to the NFL field against the Miami Dolphins.

Bill Belichick and the Patriots ended up taking the game by a final score of 43-0. Leading up to the game, the Patriots were highly favored, but most were expecting the Dolphins to score at least a point or two. That didn't end up being the case.

With all of that being said, the focus for New England fans was to see what Brown brought to the offense. New England racked up 33 points in Week 1 without him against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Adding Brown, who is still one of the best wide receivers in the league, made Tom Brady's job even easier and the Patriots' offense even scarier.

Brown ended up catching four passes for 56 yards and a touchdown against a weak Dolphins' defense. He also became the first player in NFL history to catch touchdown passes from both Ben Roethlisberger and Tom Brady. Not the biggest NFL record, but still something to take note of.

Right off the bat, the Patriots focused on getting Brown the football. He caught three passes for 36 yards early in the game. Brown slowed down a bit after that, until his 20-yard touchdown pass from Brady.

Take a look at the play for yourself to see Brown's first touchdown reception in a Patriots' jersey.

So, without further delay, let's dive in to grading Brown's debut performance with New England.

New England has to be happy with what they saw from Brown. He added a playmaking dynamic to the field that they haven't had in awhile. Brown didn't put up massive numbers, but he showed exactly what the Patriots wanted to see.

RECOMMENDED (Article Continues Below)
Eliot Wolf on one side, a bunch of New England Patriots fans on the other side with a speech bubble that says "Are we trading the pick?"

Owen Crisafulli ·

Eliot Wolf with NFL Draft logo as the Patriots look to make trades.

Conor Roche ·

The Patriots may need a huge offer to move on from the No. 3 pick in the NFL Draft

Steve Silverman ·

Brown is going to be a lethal weapon for Brady moving forward. They simply did not need to overuse him in this game with the Dolphins being unable to score a single point. Next week against the New York Jets, Brown will be more familiar with the offense and should see an even bigger role.

All of that being said, Brown played a solid game and the Patriots should be very excited to get him more involved in the future.

Grade for Brown's Debut: B+