Final: New England Patriots 23, San Diego Chargers 14
- Updated: December 7, 2014
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Quick Summary:
The San Diego Chargers took on the New England Patriots on Sunday Night Football in a game with tons of playoff implications. Two high-flying quarterbacks went into this game and…the high-flying offenses were pretty mediocre. At halftime in this game, the Chargers would be winning 13-14.
Following halftime, several more punts would come and then the Patriots would start to make some big plays while the Chargers were still stagnant on offense. Rivers would be under pressure all night being sacked 4 times and hit 7 times. On the other side of the ball, Tom Brady, would only be sacked 1 time.
The Chargers defense would play a pretty good game overall but, whats supposed to be the strength of their team, their offense would not be able to get anything going for the entirety of the game. Heck, 7 of their 14 points would be off a defensive score.
The final would be 23-14, New England, and the Chargers would fall to 8-5 for the season as they try to stick in AFC wildcard picture entering the later portion of the schedule.
Game Recap:
The game began with the Chargers on offense but not making anything happen as they would punt after 7 plays of offense netting just 27 yards. As Tom Brady came on the field for the first time in the game, the Patriots would put together a long, 17-play drive lasting 8 minutes long but would eventually have to settle for a field goal. The Patriots would now have the lead, 3-0, late in the 1st quarter.
With the Chargers now having the ball, the bolts would move down the field effectively on their 2nd possession of the game and, on the 11th play of the drive, Philip Rivers would throw a nice ball to Malcom Floyd in the end zone which would require Floyd to leap for the ball towards the back of the end zone which would be a catch he would make. This would be a 15-yard throw for a touchdown as the Chargers get their first lead of the game, 3-7.
On the following New England possession, it would appear as if the Patriots would record a 1st down but, instead, the Patriots’ Brandon LaFell, would fumble the ball which would be recovered by Chargers’ Darrell Stuckey and it would be a clear path to the end zone as Stuckey would record a touchdown for the bolts giving them a lead of 3-14 as they would score 14 points in just about 2 minutes.
The Patriots wanted to rebound after being up 3 points just two minutes ago and are now down by 14. Brady would understand the situation and execute a nice drive down the field for a 12-play drive lasting just 3:28. The Chargers’ defense would hold up, though, and the Pats would be forced to a short field goal try of 22 yards which would be good but the Chargers would still have the lead, 6-14
Chargers having the ball back would go three and out which would require a punt by the bolts…this would not be an ordinary punt however as Matt Scifres’ punt would be blocked and the Pats would be set up in good field position. Scifres would also be hurt on this play and had to be carted off the field. As a result, the rest of the Chargers’ punts had to be done by kicker, Nick Novak.
With the Patriots now having a short field to work with, it would only take them 4 plays to score a touchdown. It would be a passing touchdown to Rob Gronkowski for 14 yards. This would be just a play after Chargers’ linebacker, Manti Teo, almost came up with an interception that bobbled in and out of his hands. The Chargers would still be up, 13-14.
The Chargers would punt on their following possession, this time, with Nick Novak punting. It would be a short punt of 27 yards which would give the Patriots decent field position with just 1:56 left in the 1st half. The Patriots would move the ball into the red zone but, with just 10 seconds until halftime, Brady would throw a costly interception to, who else, Manti Teo. It is very strange to see Tom Brady throwing an interception that would take points off the board.
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To start the 2nd half, it would be very quiet on the offensive side of the ball for both teams as the game would start out with 4 straight punts. On the Chargers’ 3rd possession of the 2nd half, on a specific play, Rivers would throw a ball to Ladarious Green but Patriots’ Brandon Browner would strike Green hard which would cause an interception and return for a touchdown for the Patriots…but, the play would be called back as Browner would hit Green in the head/neck area and be considered a defenseless receiver. As a result, it would be a 15-yard penalty against the Patriots and the Chargers would maintain possession of the ball.
Still on the same possession, the Chargers would move a little bit farther down the field past the 50-yard mark and, while we had an interception by Rivers be called back on the current drive, Rivers would still end up throwing another interception that would not be called back. Patriots’ Akeem Ayers would be the man getting the pick.
A couple more punts later and the Patriots would finally get a nice drive together. 10 plays for 55 yards taking up 5 minutes of the game would give the Patriots a oppurtunity for another field goal. It would be a 38-yard field goal which would be good giving the Patriots the lead 16-14 at the start of the 4th quarter. Like last week, the Chargers’ defense has been playing very well red zone defense preventing offenses from rarely getting a touchdown.
Following a Chargers’ punt, the Patriots would get the ball back but it would not be for long as, just one play later, Brady would throw a medium route to Julian Edelman but the Chargers would miss their tackles and Edelman would break free for 69 yards and a Patriots’ touchdown. The Patriots would now be up 23-14 midway through the 4th quarter.
23-14 would end up being the final score as the Chargers would fail to get anything going and would not score a single points in the 2nd half of this game.
Quick Statistics:
San Diego Chargers –
QB – Philip Rivers: 20-33, 189 passing yards, 1 passing touchdown, 1 interception
WR – Malcom Floyd: 3 receptions, 54 receiving yards, 1 receiving touchdown
LB – Melvin Ingram: 6 tackles, 5 solo tackles, 1 sack, 3 tackles for loss, 1 pass deflection
LB – Kavell Conner: 9 tackles, 7 solo tackles
New England Patriots –
QB – Tom Brady: 28-44, 305 passing yards, 2 passing touchdowns, 1 interception
WR – Julian Edelman: 8 receptions, 141 receiving yards, 1 receiving touchdown
TE – Rob Gronkowski: 8 receptions, 87 receiving yards, 1 receiving touchdown
LB – Jamie Collins: 9 tackles, 8 solo tackles, 2 sacks, 3 tackles for loss
For more on the San Diego Chargers and how the rest of their season will pan out, stick here at CaliSportsNews.com. All Cali, all the time.
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