SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Tom Brady threw for 280 yards and four touchdowns and the New England Patriots beat San Francisco 30-17 on Sunday in Brady’s first road game against the team he rooted for as a boy.

Brady found Danny Amendola for a 5-yard touchdown to start the fourth quarter, then hit Malcolm Mitchell on a 56-yard score for his fourth TD pass.

Brady also threw short touchdown passes to Julian Edelman and James White on his first two possessions and completed 24 of 40 passes. The AFC East-leading Patriots (8-2) bounced back on a rainy day at Levi’s Stadium from last week’s loss to the Seahawks.

And when the game ended, a rainbow had emerged over the entire stadium – a fitting cap to Brady’s fine afternoon of football. No. 12 then threw a football into the stands behind one end zone.

Edelman caught a 4-yard TD pass for the first score of the game, breaking away from Keith Reaser to the corner and just keeping both feet inbounds. He finished with eight receptions for 77 yards, and Mitchell four catches for 98 yards.

Brady hit White for a 9-yard touchdown, then Amendola reached a career high with his fourth TD catch of 2016 on the first play of the fourth quarter. Mitchell’s athletic, reaching grab between two defenders and straightaway speed after the catch for his first career touchdown sealed the victory.

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Back in the Bay Area at last and with so many family and friends in the stands, Brady completed eight of his first nine passes and 9 of 11, while New England’s defense flew through a leaky offensive line at Colin Kaepernick for four first-half sacks and five in all.

Brady had never played a road game against the 49ers, having injured his knee before the Patriots’ 2008 visit to Candlestick Park – where Brady as a youngster used to cheer for Joe Montana and witnessed “The Catch” by Dwight Clark.

LeGarrette Blount had a season-long 44-yard run and finished with 125 yards rushing.

Kaepernick threw an 18-yard touchdown pass to Vance McDonald late in the first half to get the 49ers (1-9) within 13-10, but they didn’t do enough right after intermission until Shaun Draughn’s late 13-yard TD catch.

Levi’s Stadium was so packed with Patriots fans it almost sounded like a home game in Foxborough.

Kaepernick has looked improved each week since regaining the starting job last month, completing 16 of 30 passes for 206 yards, but the 49ers lost their ninth straight game under first-year coach Chip Kelly since opening the season with a shutout of the Rams.

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SO MANY TARGETS: During the regular season, Brady has thrown touchdown passes to 63 players – second-most behind Vinny Testaverde’s 70.

Brady also had four TD passes with no interceptions for the 21st time in his career.

PATS’ PASS RUSH: Four Patriots had first-half sacks on Kaepernick: Patrick Chung, Malcolm Butler, Kyle Van Noy and Dont’a Hightower. Rob Ninkovich sacked Kaepernick in the second half.

LEWIS’ DEBUT: Pats running back Dion Lewis made his season debut after recovering from reconstructive surgery on his left knee.

He had a 9-yard reception for a first down during New England’s opening drive.

DAWSON’S MARK: With a 33-yard field goal in the first quarter, San Francisco’s 41-year-old kicker, Phil Dawson, became the 10th kicker in NFL history to reach 400 field goals.

SMITH’S FIRST MISS: San Francisco wideout Torrey Smith missed his first career game and had his streak of consecutive games snapped at 89 because of a shoulder injury sustained last week at Arizona.


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