It wasn't easy for Tom Brady and the New England Patriots, but they did just enough to defeat the number one-seeded San Diego Chargers 24-21 on Sunday.
The Patriots struck first, as rookie Stephen Gostkowski connected on a 50-yard field goal, the longest of his career. Gostkowski would play an even bigger role later in the game.
The Chargers were able to bounce back, running off 14-unanswered points. MVP LaDainian Tomlinson put San Diego up 7-3 with a two-yard touchdown scamper at the 11:50 mark of the second quarter, and Brady was then intercepted by Donnie Edwards leading to a seven-yard score by Michael Turner for a 14-3 advantage.
However, Brady and the Patriots rebounded before the half ended, as the three-time Super Bowl champion led New England on an 11-play, 72-yard drive capped by a six-yard touchdown pass to newly discovered Jabar Gaffney, cutting San Diego's lead to four, 14-10. Gaffney, who caught 11 passes all season, had 10 catches for 103 yards and the touchdown Sunday.
Brady was intercepted again with 10:45 to play in the third, this time by Drayton Florence. The Chargers were not able to capitalize on the turnover, however, and were forced to punt.
New England started from their own two-yard line on their next possession, and after going three-and-out and punting the football, San Diego's Eric Parker muffed the punt and the Patriots recovered at the San Diego 31. That wasn't the only mistake the Chargers made on the drive.
On third-and-13 from the 29-yard line, Brady was sacked for a loss of seven yards for Shaun Phillips. The ball came loose, but the Patriots recovered and lost an extra yard. However, after the play was over, Drayton Florence headbutted Kevin Faulk and was assessed with a 15-yard penalty and an automatic New England first down. The Patriots were able to come away with three points off a 34-yard field goal by Gostkowski, making it a 14-13 game.
Rosevelt Colvin then intercepted Philip Rivers on San Diego's next drive, but New England was forced to punt. The Chargers then took a 21-13 lead after a nine-play, 83-yard drive concluded by a three-yard touchdown run by Tomlinson. However, San Diego shot themselves in the foot again, as Shane Olivea was given an unnecessary roughness penalty which would be assessed on the kickoff.
Because of the penalty, Brady and the Patriots would start with good field position on their own 37. On the sixth play of the drive, Brady was intercepted by Marlon McRee, but McRee fumbled and New England recovered on the Chargers' 32-yard line, resulting in a Patriot first down. Marty Schottenheimer challenged the ruling on the field that it was a fumble, but the call was clearly correct and was upheld.
Brady took advantage of the second opportunity, as he went 3-for-4 with 23 yards and threw a touchdown pass to Reche Caldwell to make the score 21-19. The Patriots then went for two points and converted, as Faulk ran it in to tie things up at 21.
New England then forced San Diego to go three-and-out, and the Patriots took over from their own 15-yard line. Brady, who had 23 fourth-quarter comebacks coming into this game, started the drive off by completing a 19-yard pass to Daniel Graham. He then threw a 49-yard bomb down the sideline to a streaking Caldwell who ran out of bounds at the Chargers' 17. That set the stage for Gostkowski, who kicked a 31-yarder through the uprights to give the Patriots a 24-21 lead with 1:14 to go.
San Diego started from their own 25 and got within the range of their Pro Bowl kicker Nate Kaeding. However, Kaeding missed a 54-yard field goal, sealing things for the fourth-seeded Patriots.
Things got a little testy after the game, as Tomlinson went after several New England players because they were imitating the sack dance of Chargers' linebacker Shawne Merriman. Tomlinson later called the Patriots "classless" and took a shot at Patriots' head coach Bill Belichick, saying that he may have had something to do with the celebration.
The Patriots will travel to Indianapolis to play the Colts in the AFC Championship Game next Sunday. New England and Indianapolis have met in the playoffs twice in the past three years, once in the Conference Championship in the 2003-2004 season and once in the Divisional Round in 2004-2005. The Patriots won both meetings and went on to win the Super Bowl both years. However, both of those meetings were at New England.
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