Brady lights it up

Tom Brady sat on the bench in Miami, his sweat-soaked hair hanging in his face as he fumed about his first interception in nearly 11 months.

A little later he was back in the same seat wearing a wide grin as teammates congratulated him on a record-setting performance.

Brady shook off a rare turnover to throw for a team-record 517 yards and four touchdowns, including a 99-yarder to Wes Welker, as the New England Patriots started with a victory for the eighth consecutive season Monday night, beating the Dolphins 38-24.

Defensive end Jared Odrick picked off a deflected pass to set up a Miami touchdown and end Brady’s NFL-record streak of 358 passes without an interception.

New England totaled 622 yards, the most in franchise history and the most allowed by Miami. Brady’s performance overshadowed Miami’s Chad Henne, who threw for a career-high 416 yards.

The 906 net yards passing by both teams was an NFL record.

“They made some plays on us,” Brady said. “We made a few more than them.”

Brady, who was 32 of 48, became the 11th quarterback to throw for at least 500 yards. Norm Van Brocklin set the record of 554 in 1951.

“We’re pleased to have him on our side,” teammate Danny Woodhead said with a smile.

The capper came with 5:44 left and the Patriots leading 31-17. After they stopped Miami on downs at the 1-foot line, Brady lined up in the shotgun on first down and threw from his end zone to Welker, who had slipped behind Benny Sapp near the 30.

“When I saw the coverage as we lined up, I knew there was a strong possibility I could be getting the ball,” Welker said. “I just wanted to make the most of the opportunity.”

“I only threw it 25 yards. Wes did all the work,” Brady said. “When I saw him break away, that was awesome. Coach never lets us run that route in practice.”

Raiders kick Broncos

Sebastian Janikowski tied an NFL record with a 63-yard field goal and the Oakland Raiders beat the Denver Broncos 23-20 in a chippy and clumsy game between the AFC West rivals.

The Raiders (1-0) won in Denver for the fourth straight season in coach Hue Jackson’s NFL head coaching debut, and handed the Broncos (0-1) their first loss in a home opener since 2000.

Darren McFadden, ran 22 times for 150 yards for the Raiders.

Seahawks regroup

Across the backs of numerous shirts printed up since Pete Carroll took over in Seattle is the word “finish,” a reference to making sure his Seahawks close every game strong.

Instead of finishing, the Seahawks flopped in their season opener.

A combination of an absent offense and a late special teams meltdown had Carroll’s club lamenting a missed opportunity on Monday after falling 33-17 at San Francisco.

The Seahawks had trimmed a 16-0 deficit to 19-17 with less than 4 minutes remaining on Doug Baldwin’s 55-yard touchdown catch-and-run. Then Ted Ginn Jr. returned the ensuing kickoff 102 yards for the decisive score. He added a 55-yard punt return touchdown just moments later.

“It really came down to getting caught up and getting out of a lane and giving Teddy Ginn a chance to use his speed, and he did,” Carroll said. “That’s a classic mistake that you make in containment and we’re going to use it as an illustration of doing things right until the finish, as we always talk about.”

After Seattle’s offense managed only three first downs and 37 yards of offense before halftime, the second half was a response Seattle’s offense needed. Tavaris Jackson was given time in the pocket and was 14 of 26 for 155 yards and two scores as Seattle rallied. The Seahawks had 15 first downs in the second half.

49ers sign Johnson

The San Francisco 49ers have signed running back Ian Johnson to the practice squad.

It was Johnson who in January 2007 helped Boise State stun 10th-ranked Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl and then proposed to his cheerleader girlfriend on national TV.

The Niners cleared roster room by releasing running back Xavier Omon.

Injury update

Pro Bowl safety Eric Berry will miss the remainder of the Chiefs’ season after tearing the ACL in his left knee… The Chargers’ Nate Kaeding, who entered the season as the most accurate kicker in NFL history, is out for the year after injuring his left knee on the season-opening kickoff. … Panthers linebacker Jon Beason will miss the rest of the season with a torn left Achilles tendon. … The Rams could be without injured running back Steven Jackson (strained right quadriceps) for next Monday night’s game against the New York Giants, while quarterback Sam Bradford is expected to play despite a bruised index finger. … Ravens coach John Harbaugh says rookie cornerback Jimmy Smith will be sidelined “a few weeks” with a high ankle sprain.