New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady passes the ball during their NFL game against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday in Foxborough, Massachusetts. Photo: IC

Tom Brady passed for three touchdowns and 341 yards as the New England Patriots began the defense of their Super Bowl title with a 33-3 rout of Pittsburgh in a bruising opening Sunday of the NFL season.

The 42-year-old Brady completed 24 of 36 passes and improved to 6-0 at home against the Steelers. He threw two touchdown passes to Phillip Dorsett and one to Josh Gordon. Stephen Gostkowski added four field goals. 

"The defense played great and gave us a lot of opportunities," said Brady. "We made some big plays on the pass game."

The Patriots, who held a pregame ceremony to celebrate their championship, started quickly leading 7-0 after the first quarter and 20-0 at halftime.

Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was 27 of 47 for 276 passing yards, and an interception.

The win comes just days before the Patriots add Antonio Brown to their lineup. New England reportedly has guaranteed the wide receiver $9 million this season.

Brown, a four-time All-Pro and one of the league's most dynamic pass catchers, is not eligible to be signed officially until Monday.

Brady said he hopes the Patriots can find a receiver role for Brown. "It is about getting him up to speed," Brady said. 

"He is a great player and we are excited to have him. I played against him for a long time. 

"We will try to incorporate him into the lineup the best way we can."

Elsewhere, reigning Most Valuable Player Patrick Mahomes threw for 378 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Kansas City Chiefs to a 40-26 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Sammy Watkins grabbed nine passes for a career-high 198 yards and three touchdowns, taking over as the top target for Chiefs quarterback Mahomes after Tyreek Hill departed with a shoulder injury days after he inked a three-year, $54 million deal last week.

Hill was later transported to hospital with what Chiefs head trainer Rick Burkholder called a "sternoclavicular joint injury which is where your clavicle comes into your sternum."

The news was possibly worse for the Jaguars, who lost quarterback Nick Foles to a broken left clavicle less than a quarter into his debut.

Jaguars coach Doug Marrone said there was no timetable for Foles' return after surgery expected on Monday.

"It was unfortunate," Marrone said. "You'd really like to see how the game would've worked itself out with Nick."

In his absence, rookie sixth-round pick Gardner Minshew threw for 275 yards and two touchdowns in an outstanding debut that still wasn't enough.

Los Angeles Rams safety Eric Weddle suffered a frightening head laceration in his team's 30-27 win over the Panthers in Carolina.

Weddle was carted off the field in the first half to have treatment for the bloody wound and a concussion evaluation.

With less than six minutes left in the second half, Weddle attempted to tackle Panthers running back Christian McCaffrey as he rushed toward the right sideline. 

McCaffrey tried to hurdle over Weddle and ended up catching him with a knee to the right side of his helmet.