Patriots Headed to Super Bowl XLII
New England Patriots 21, San Diego Chargers 12 for AFC Title
Jan 20, 2008
The New England Patriots are headed to Super Bowl XLII on Feb 3 in the wake of a 21-12 victory over the San Diego Chargers in the AFC Championship game Sunday. The win jacked up the Patriots’ overall record to 18-0 for the 2007 season.
The Pats outshone a gutsy, never-say-die effort on the part of the Chargers, who played without NFL rushing leader LaDainian Tomlinson. Tomlinson played the first two offensive series for San Diego, carrying twice for 5 yards, and snagging a single swing pass. After the game, Bolts’ head coach Norv Turner told CBS Sports that Tomlinson couldn’t make sharp cuts on his gimpy knee.
"He really couldn't get started," Turner said. "He went and tried to go and just didn't have the power to push off."
Game Recap
New England’s defense dominated when it had to, allowing the team to overcome an untypical – for him – poor performance by Patriots’ quarterback Tom Brady, who threw three interceptions. Brady had only thrown eight picks all year. He was 22 for 33 with 209 yards in the air. But he hit Jabar Gaffney and Wes Welker in the end zone, New England’s second and final scores, so he came through when it counted.
What counted most however was the way the Patriots’ offense ate up the final six-plus minutes of the contest, when they continually moved the ball downfield, denying San Diego the opportunity to score again. Another critical aspect of New England’s defensive efforts was the way it limited the Bolts’ to settling for field goals when its offense got into the red zone.
After four changes of possession to open the game, the Charger struck first when place kicker Nate Kaeding hit for a 26-yard field goal at 2:55 of the first quarter. The score came off a Quentin Jammer interception of a Brady pass, but the Patriots came right back when running back Laurence Maroney tallied on a 1-yard dive into the San Diego end zone at just over one minute into the second frame.
Another Kaeding red zone field goal made the score 7-6 Patriots, Tom Terrific hurled a 12-yard TD pass to Gaffney after a lengthy drive by his offense. The Stephen Gostkowski extra point made the game 14-6, yet Kaeding stepped up again and hit on a 40-yard field goal with 8 seconds left in the half. Kaeding made it a 2-point game when he chipped in a 24-yard field goal at 8:36 of the third quarter.
Brady seemingly never found a groove, throwing two additional interceptions, including one from the Chargers’ 2-yard-line. But Maroney – who only accumulated 16 yards on the ground during the first half – romped in the second half, rushing for 106 yards after the break. And with the game at 14-12 Pats, New England finally found its footing in the sub-zero weather at Gillette Stadium.
The Patriots engineered a lengthy drive, capped off with a 6-yard TD strike from Brady to Welker at 12:15 of the fourth quarter. Gostkowski added the extra point, making the score 21-12. After that, San Diego simply couldn’t sustain a drive, but New England could, eating up the clock and preventing the Chargers from making a comeback.
Player Performances
Wide receiver Randy Moss was really a non-factor in the game, while all-purpose back Kevin Faulk led the Pats with 8 receptions for 82 yards, many of those catches key elements in time-consuming drives. Welker grabbed 7 receptions for 56 yards and the one TD. Moss did run a reverse that gained 14 yards against an unsuspecting Bolt defense.
San Diego quarterback Philip Rivers played a stellar game on two bad knees, hitting on 19 of 37 passes for a total of 211 yards. Running back Michael Turner carried 17 times for 65 yards, while Darren Sproles registered 34 yards on three tries, including a 26-yard gain.
All-Pro tight end Antonio Gates, coming off an injury of his own, also failed to play a key role in the contest. Rivers’ two top receivers were Vincent Jackson (6 receptions, 93 yards) and wide receiver Chris Chambers (7 receptions, 90 yards). Both made key contributions but the San Diegans simply couldn’t tally more than a field goal at a time.
