The New England Patriots made a very large statement Sunday night in San Diego: They don't have to play their best to beat playoff contenders.
If anyone was doubting New England after last week's loss to the Green Bay Packers, looks like they can stop after Tom Brady & Co. escaped Southern California with a 23-14 win.
"We battled and I knew it was going to take 60 minutes," the Patriots quarterback said. "... It was a physical game, and it is great to come out with a win. It's always tough winning on the road, especially against a team that's 8-4, so it was a big win."
New England's win wasn't pretty by any means, but it most certainly was important. With the Denver Broncos defeating the Buffalo Bills only a handful of minutes before the Sunday nighter kicked off, beating the Chargers was the only acceptable outcome for the Patriots.
But the way New England played in the first half, you might have thought otherwise. Curious play calls, turnovers that led to points and bad defensive possessions all contributed to New England's slow start — and 14-3 deficit halfway through the second quarter.
On the first drive of the game, quarterback Tom Brady led the Patriots on a 17-play, 89-yard drive that took nearly eight minutes off the clock, but the drive stalled inside the Chargers' 8-yard line after Brady took a sack from Chargers linebacker Melvin Ingram, forcing the Patriots to settle for a field goal.
It sounded like a home game out there!! HUGE ??? to #PATSNATION !!! Stand up!!!!!
— Shane Vereen (@ShaneVereen34) December 8, 2014
Of the 17 plays, nine were called runs, accounting for 48 total yards. The Patriots were controlling the line of scrimmage, allowing backs LeGarrette Blount and Jonas Gray to run roughshod over the Chargers front four. The play call to pass on third down so close to the end zone, with two big physical backs in your back pocket, certainly raised some eyebrows.
Just after the Chargers scored to take a 7-3 lead early in the second quarter came another Patriots' drive, and another mental mistake as wide receiver Brandon LaFell hauled in a Brady pass over the middle of the field, only to have the ball ripped from his grasp by Chargers safety Jahleel Addae and picked up and taken 53 yards to the house by teammate Darrell Stuckey.
The Chargers took a 14-3 lead after Stuckey's touchdown, a lead that held into the waning moments of the second quarter, when the Patriots blocked a Mike Scifres punt to give Brady a short field before halftime. It took Brady only four plays to go 25 yeards and reach the end zone, finding tight end Rob Gronkowski from 14 yards out to pull within one, 14-13.
That's when it all changed for New England. The Bill Belichick-coached Patriots were a different team in the second half, spurred on by a monster hit by cornerback Brandon Browner on Chargers tight end Ladarius Green with just under seven minutes to play in the third quarter.
Running across the middle and trying to bring in a Philip Rivers throw, Green juggled the ball, distracting his focus away from the incoming Browner. Before Green could complete the catch, Browner dropped his shoulder and laid it into Green's upper body.
Devin McCourty intercepted the pass and took it back 56 yards for a score, but the play was nullified as the Browner hit drew a bevy of flags.
"That's just part of the game now a days," Browner said. "When you make a big hit now a days, they tend to call a penalty. I felt it was pretty clean. I lowered my shoulder into his chest. It's just the nature of the game."
Green ended up suffering a concussion on the play and did not return. Nature of the game or not, though, the hit changed the momentum. The Patriots never looked back, holding San Diego's offense zero points on only 22 plays in the second half, including 1 of 7 on third downs -- a stat that was a major focus for this Patriots coming into the game.
"We did a good job, emphasized getting off on third down," Browner said "I think we did a better job this week than we did last week. We fought till the end today. I think that's what helped us win the game."
The Patriots battled harder for this win than perhaps any other this season. As a result, we probably learned more about this Patriots team than we would have had they won by 30.
As the former tennis great Brad Gilbert once wrote, "There's nothing prettier than winning ugly." Coming off a tough loss in Green Bay, perhaps an ugly win is exactly what New England needs to power through the remainder of the schedule.
"We'll enjoy this one for a little while, but we have to turn the page," Belichick said. "We have two big division games left at the end of our season. We have to go down to Miami and coach a lot better than we coached (tonight) if we're going to win."
