Brady leads Pats past Panthers

Aug 25, 2007, 17:09 GMT

Charlotte, NC - Tom Brady completed 17 of 22 passes for 167 yards and two touchdowns to lead the New England Patriots to a 24-7 win over the Carolina Panthers in preseason play at Bank of America Stadium.

Laurence Maroney ran for 58 yards on 15 carries in his first action since offseason shoulder surgery. Heath Evans had seven carries for 58 yards.

The Patriots, who blocked two John Kasay field-goal attempts, improved to 1-2 in the preseason.

Jake Delhomme was 11-of-18 for 162 yards and a touchdown. His backup David Carr was 8-of-11 for 58 yards, but was intercepted by Oscar Lua.

Top rushers DeAngelo Williams and DeShaun Foster combined for 29 yards on 12 carries for the Panthers, who fell to 1-1 in preseason play.

The Patriots got on the board with two seconds left in the first quarter when Stephen Gostkowski drilled a 23-yard field goal to cap a drive of 90 yards on 18 plays that chewed up 9:43 of the clock.

Brady hit Marcellus Rivers with a six-yard touchdown pass with 5:37 left in the second quarter to put New England ahead 10-0.

Carolina found the end zone when Delhomme hit Kerry Colbert for a 48-yard touchdown pass with 34 seconds left in the half.

Brady threw his second touchdown of the night with 12:32 left in the third quarter when he connected with Heath Evans for an eight-yard touchdown completion.

Evans' two-yard touchdown run with 2:29 left in the third quarter capped the scoring.

© 2007 The Sports Network