Finally solving
their Patriots problem may very
well have saved the season for
Philip Rivers and the San Diego
Chargers.
Rivers threw three touchdown
passes and San Diego’s defense
stuffed quarterback Matt Cassel
on fourth-and-goal from the
1-yard line to highlight a 30-10
win over New England on Sunday
night.
Rivers and the rest of the
Chargers (3-3) know that beating
the Patriots doesn’t make up for
the loss that kept them out of
the Super Bowl or that
mind-numbing home playoff defeat
two seasons ago.
What it did, though, was put to
rest the questions about the
Chargers’ maddening
inconsistency, especially since
they head out on a long and
winding road trip that takes
them to Buffalo and then London
for a game against the New
Orleans Saints....
Philip Rivers passed to Malcom Floyd down the middle for
49 yard gain (Nate Kaeding made PAT)
0 - 10
2nd Quarter
7:13
NE
FG
Stephen Gostkowski kicked a 47-yard field goal
3 - 10
1:07
SD
TD
Philip Rivers passed to Vincent Jackson down the middle
for 4 yard gain (Nate Kaeding made PAT)
3 - 17
3rd Quarter
7:07
SD
TD
Philip Rivers passed to Antonio Gates to the right for 1
yard gain (Nate Kaeding made PAT)
3 - 24
4:20
SD
FG
Nate Kaeding kicked a 35-yard field goal
3 - 27
4th Quarter
10:50
SD
FG
Nate Kaeding kicked a 23-yard field goal
3 - 30
5:16
NE
TD
Sammy Morris rushed up the middle for 1 yard gain
(Stephen Gostkowski made PAT)
10 - 30
Team Statistics
NE
SD
First Downs
18
19
Passing
8
13
Rushing
10
3
Penalty
0
3
Third Down Efficiency
5-14
3-10
Fourth Down Efficiency
0-1
0-0
TOTAL NET YARDS
299
404
Total Plays
68
55
Average Gain Per Play
4.4
7.3
NET YARDS RUSHING
106
98
Rushes
26
28
Average Per Rush
4.1
3.5
NET YARDS PASSING
193
306
Completions-Attempts
22-38
18-27
Yards Per Pass Play
4.6
11.3
Times Sacked
4
0
Yards Lost to Sacks
10
0
Had Intercepted
1
0
PUNTS
5
3
Average Punt
42.4
39.3
PENALTIES
6
3
Penalty Yards
73
20
FUMBLES
1
1
Fumbles Lost
0
1
TIME OF POSSESSION
31:34
28:26
Pregame Previews, Storylines,
and News
Preview:
With their franchise quarterback out for the season, the New
England Patriots have patched together a successful start to 2008.
The San Diego Chargers have no such excuse, yet they own a losing record.
To avoid falling into a deeper hole, the Chargers must try to beat a Patriots
team looking for its second straight win in California when these traditional
AFC powers meet on Sunday night.
It's been a topsy-turvy start to the season in the AFC, where the Chargers,
Patriots and Indianapolis Colts have combined for 11 division titles in the last
four years. None of those elite teams currently leads its division, and only New
England sports a winning record.
The Patriots have managed to start 3-1 despite losing Tom Brady to a
season-ending knee injury in the first quarter of their Week 1 game against
Kansas City. With backup Matt Cassel passing for a career-high 259 yards last
Sunday, New England bounced back from a loss to Miami before its bye week,
winning 30-21 at San Francisco.
Randy Moss, who had only 47 receiving yards in his previous two games combined,
exceeded that total on one play as Cassel hit the star wideout in stride for a
66-yard touchdown pass...
The Patriots bounced back
from their first regular-season loss since December 2006 and beat the
49ers in San Francisco, 30-21, last weekend. Including the postseason,
New England has beaten the Chargers three straight times and four of the
last five times the teams have met in San Diego
One season removed from scoring an
NFL-record 589 points in 2007, the Patriots are averaging just 19.8 ppg
in 2008 — tied for 24th lowest in football
LaDainian Tomlinson was held to just 35
yards rushing by the Dolphins last weekend, marking just the 12th time
in 116 career games that LT has been held under 40 yards on the ground.
The Chargers are 3-9 in those contests
CHARGERS: Defense can't be a patsy against Pats
North County Times
The Chargers have a chunk of highway facing them in
trying to speed past their slow start. And what better team than the Patriots
---- who eliminated them ...
13.9
10.6