Patriots Rookie Eli Raridon Opens NFL Season’s Scoring With First Career Touchdown

New England got on the board first in the NFL season’s opening scoring play, with rookie tight end Eli Raridon hauling in a two-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Drake Maye to give the Patriots a 7-0 lead over the Seattle Seahawks in the second quarter.

The scoring drive was a patient one. New England marched 77 yards over 10 plays, consuming 5:37 of game clock in a first half dominated by both defenses. A key moment came when Seattle’s defense was flagged for a 35-yard penalty on a pass intended for wide receiver A.J. Brown, moving the Patriots into the red zone and setting up Raridon’s milestone catch.

For Raridon, a Notre Dame product, the touchdown marked both his first NFL reception and his first career score. The Patriots celebrated the moment on social media, and his early involvement offers a glimpse of how the team may plan to use him this season.

Tight end has been an area where New England has sought more young depth, and an early contribution from a rookie on the sport’s biggest opening stage is a notable starting point for the sixth-round-era addition’s development alongside Maye.

Broadcast context

The matchup aired on NBC, part of Comcast’s media portfolio. Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA) shares were trading at $24.59 in recent activity, down 6.61% from a prior close of $26.33, valuing the media and technology conglomerate at roughly $92.53 billion. The company, which operates across connectivity, media, studios, and theme parks segments, carries NFL programming through its NBC broadcast network, making marquee early-season games like this one part of its sports advertising and audience strategy.

Prime-time season openers traditionally rank among the most-watched broadcasts on the NFL calendar, and Comcast’s NBC slot again carried the season’s first touchdown — a milestone that will belong to Raridon regardless of how the rest of the game unfolds in Seattle.

What to watch

• How the Patriots continue to integrate Raridon into the offense in upcoming weeks.
• Drake Maye’s development in his connection with young receiving targets.
• NBC/Comcast viewership figures for the early-season prime-time window.
• CMCSA’s next quarterly earnings report for updates on its media segment performance.

Source: original release