Patriots survive Brady's knee injury to defeat Chiefs

BOSTON (Reuters) - The New England Patriots survived a game-ending knee injury to MVP quarterback Tom Brady to beat the Kansas City Chiefs 17-10 on the opening weekend of the NFL season on Sunday.

Brady injured his left knee midway the first quarter when hit by Kansas City safety Bernard Pollard. He fell to the ground and grabbed the knee before limping off the field.

Back-up Matt Cassel replaced Brady and threw a 10-yard second-quarter touchdown pass to top receiver Randy Moss to give New England a lead they never lost.

Sammy Morris scored on a five-yard third-quarter run and Stephen Gostkowski kicked a 37-yard field goal with 2:30 left in the game to seal the victory for the Patriots, who enjoyed an undefeated 2007 regular season before losing to the New York Giants in the Super Bowl.

Kansas City pulled within 14-10 on Damond Huard's 13-yard touchdown pass to Dwayne Bowe early in the fourth quarter before Gostkowski's field goal.

Nick Novak kicked a 40-yard second-quarter field goal for the Chiefs, who lost starting quarterback Brodie Croyle to a shoulder injury in the third quarter.

Brady completed seven of 11 passes for 76 yards before the injury. He had missed the preseason while recovering from a foot injury.

* Former Green Bay quarterback Brett Favre came back from retirement to throw two touchdown passes in the New York Jets' 20-14 win at Miami.

* Drew Brees threw three touchdown passes, including a game-clinching 42-yarder to Reggie Bush, in a 343-yard performance that gave the New Orleans Saints a 24-20 win over visiting Tampa Bay.

* Veteran Donovan McNabb passed for 361 yards and three touchdowns in the Philadelphia Eagles' 38-3 rout of the visiting St Louis Rams.

* The Pittsburgh Steelers rolled past the Houston Texans 38-17 with Willie Parker running for three touchdowns and Ben Roethlisberger passing for two more in a near-perfect 13-of-14 performance.

* The Tennessee Titans' defense sacked Jacksonville quarterback David Garrard seven times and intercepted him twice in a 17-10 home win over the Jaguars.

* The Atlanta Falcons beat the Detroit Lions 34-21 behind Michael Turner's two touchdowns and a team-record 220 yards.

* The Buffalo Bills, energized by Roscoe Parrish's 63-yard second-quarter punt return for a touchdown, crushed the Seattle Seahawks 34-10.

(Editing by Miles Evans)