Chargers start slowly in loss to Patriots

Sunday, Sep 16, 2007
By Tom Shanahan, Chargers.com

Two years ago the Chargers traveled to New England for an early-season game and surprised the Patriots with a surprisingly easy 41-17 win.

The Patriots turned the tables in the second week of 2007 with a game that also was surprisingly one-sided as New England beat the Chargers 38-14 Sunday night on NBC's national broadcast at Gillette Stadium.

The Patriots improved to 2-0 and the Chargers dropped to 1-1 as the game failed to live up to the hype of a rematch from last year's playoffs when the Patriots upset the Chargers 24-21.

New England quarterback Tom Brady and wide receiver Randy Moss hooked up for a pair of touchdown passes as the Patriots took a 24-0 halftime lead.

"To win in this league, you have got to be at your best," Chargers head coach Norv Turner said. "We were playing an outstanding football team on the road and we weren't able to match the things they did. There were times when I thought we were getting our rhythm, but then they physically overpowered us or made a play we couldn't match."

Brady threw for a career high 151 yards in the first quarter and finished the night completing 25-of-31 passes for 279 yards with three touchdowns and one interception.

Moss, acquired in a trade with the Oakland Raiders, caught eight balls for 105 yards and two touchdowns and Wes Walker, acquired in a trade with the Miami Dolphins, caught eight passes for 91 yards.

Welker's big catch was a 34-yarder that set up the Patriots' first touchdown on a 7-yard pass from Brady to tight end Benjamin Watson. Brady said Moss' presence opens up the offense for his teammates.

"Randy is a dynamic player and has been that way since he came into the league," Brady said. "He always attracts double coverage, and if he gets singled, you see what happens. I think the biggest benefactors are the other guys. If they roll up on Randy, the other guys have got to make plays, and they did tonight."

The Patriots scored on the game's first possession when Brady completed 6-of-7 passes on the drive for Watson's score with 12:19 left in the first quarter.

The Patriots missed a 41-yard field goal on their second possession, but they soon increased their lead to 14-0 on Moss' first touchdown catch with 3:55 left in the first quarter.

New England's two other two first-half scores came on a 24-yard field goal by Stephen Gostowski for a 17-0 lead and a 65-yard interception return for a touchdown by linebacker Adalius Thomas make it 24-0 with 5:28 left in the first half.

A week ago the Chargers were scoreless at halftime against the Chicago Bears, but they only had to come back from a 3-0 deficit in a 14-3 win.

"To hold this offense to zero points at halftime two weeks in a row, it's not the defense; it's the offense," Chargers fullback Lorenzo Neal said. "We've got to look at the film and make some corrections. I'm not saying both teams aren't good, but there is no way two teams should be able to hold us to zero points in the first half. We have too many weapons and too many big time players."

The Chargers showed signs of staging a second-half comeback twice.

The Bolts opened the third quarter with a touchdown drive that ended with Neal scoring to make it a 24-7 game. Neal's touchdown was a 1-yard pass to finish a 16-play, 72-yard march with 6:47 left in the third quarter.

But New England quickly bumped the lead to 31-7 on a 24-yard touchdown pass to Moss.

The Chargers scored their second touchdown of the game early in the fourth quarter on a 12-yard pass from Rivers to tight end Antonio Gates to make it 31-14.

On the ensuing kickoff, Chargers special teams Pro Bowler Kassim Osgood came from behind to knocked the ball from return man Ellis Hobbs. Quentin Jammer recovered at the 31-yard line.

A touchdown drive would pull the Chargers within 10 points, but two sacks led to the Chargers punting the ball away.

Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers finished the night completing 19 of 30 passes for 179 yards with two touchdown passes and two interceptions.

"We said all week we can't give them a short field and we've got to keep the ball away from them," Rivers said. "We didn't do either of those things. You can't dig a 24-0 hole against these guys."

New England scored the games' final points on a 3-yard run by Sammy Morris with 3:18 left in the game.

"The biggest thing you have to do in this league is play a complete game, and I don't think we helped ourselves in any phase," Turner said. "They came out and spread the field on us. They got their quick guys running underneath and Randy running up the field. Then we turned the ball over. That's not playing the way we need to."