GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Jimmy Garoppolo did just what Tom Brady always seems to do. Lead the New England Patriots to a late score and victory.
But the Patriots needed a little help.
Arizona's Chandler Catanzaro missed a 47-yard field goal with 41 seconds to play and the severely depleted Patriots escaped with a 23-21 victory Sunday night in the season opener.
The snap from rookie-long snapper Kameron Canady was low and holder Drew Butler didn't get the ball in terrific position. But Catanzaro was making no excuses.
"Just an old-fashioned miss," Catanzaro said. "I'll make the next one."
The miss came after Garoppolo, in his first NFL start, directed the Patriots from their own 19 to the Arizona 15 to set up Stephen Gostkowski's 23-yard field goal for what proved to be the winner with 3:44 to play.
Garoppolo completed 24 of 33 passes for 264 yards with no interceptions. He never seemed rattled.
"When you have confidence in your teammates and they have confidence in you, it's easy to stay poised," he said.
Arizona's Carson Palmer threw for 271 yards and two touchdowns, both to Larry Fitzgerald.
Not only were the Patriots without Brady, suspended for his role in "deflategate," but they also didn't have tight end Rob Gronkowski, defensive end Rob Ninkovich and two starters on the offensive line.
A remarkable 45-yard run by David Johnson set up a 2-yard, sliding, over-the-shoulder touchdown catch by Fitzgerald that gave the Cardinals their only lead of the night, 21-20, with 9:46 remaining.
Ex-Patriot Chandler Jones sacked Garoppolo on the first play of New England's next possession, but the young quarterback still set up the winning kick by Gostkowski, who also booted a 53-yarder.
"I am really proud of our team tonight," coach Bill Belichick said. "I thought we got great effort from all three phases. We played a good complimentary game."
A holding penalty hampered the final Arizona drive but a pass to Jaron Brown put the Cardinals within field-goal range. The snap was low and Catanzaro booted the ball to the left of the uprights.
New England, a five-point underdog, took the lead on its first possession and scored again to start the second half.
Up 10-7 at the break, the Patriots took the second-half kickoff and went 70 yards in nine plays. Rookie cornerback Brandon Williams was beaten badly for the second time on Garoppolo's 28-yard pass to the Arizona 8. LaGarrette Blount bulled it in from there and the Patriots led 17-7 with 10 minutes left in the first quarter.
"We came out too slow," Palmer said. "We were behind the 8-ball."
The first two Arizona touchdowns followed New England turnovers.
Copyright 2016 by The Associated Press
