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Week 2 Game Recap: San Diego Chargers 14, New England Patriots 38
What you need to know
| San Diego Chargers |
The Chargers were never in this game, as New England took the opening drive and scored on a Tom Brady to Ben Watson pass at 12:14 of the first quarter. On the ensuing drive, Roosevelt Colvin intercepted the first pass that Philip Rivers attempted and the rout was on.
LaDainian Tomlinson was held to 43 yards, while TE Antonio Gates led San Diego with 77 yards and one touchdown. Philip Rivers faced relentless pressure and had one of his two interceptions returned for a touchdown. He managed to complete 19 of 30 passes and two touchdowns.
The Chargers scored their second touchdown early in the fourth quarter to narrow the margin to 31 -14, and then stripped the ball on the ensuing kickoff and recovered at the Patriot 32 yard line. New England answered by sacking Rivers twice and blowing up a screen pass for Tomlinson. The San Diego defense, which was on the field over 35 minutes in this game, had no answers as Brady then marched New England methodically down the field on a 15 play, ten minute drive for a touchdown that sealed the Chargers loss.
| New England Patriots |
This game was played just a few days after the NFL severely penalized both Coach Belichick and the Patriots organization for spying, but the Patriots football team issued its own statement Sunday night by completely dominating San Diego on both sides of the ball. Tom Brady threw two touchdown passes to Randy Moss and another to Ben Watson while the Patriot defense shut down LaDainian Tomlinson and the San Diego offense. The halftime score was 24--0.
Randy Moss, one of New England's many off-season acquisitions, caught eight passes for 105 yards and two touchdowns. Wes Welker, another newcomer, caught eight passes for 91 yards. Laurence Maroney added 77 yards on the ground but, once again, Sammy Morris got the ball at the goal line. The Patriots amassed 407 total yards and 25 first downs.
LB Roosevelt Colvin intercepted one pass, recorded two sacks and forced a fumble. LB Adalius Thomas, another off-season acquisition, returned an interception 65 yards for a second quarter touchdown.
What you ought to know
| QB Philip Rivers, Pass: 19 - 30 - 179 - 2 TD / 2 INT, Rush: 1 - 6 - 0 |
With the running game shut down, it was up to Rivers to get the Chargers back in the game. He managed to complete 19 of 30 for 179 yards and two touchdowns, but threw two interceptions, one of which was returned for a touchdown. With New England comfortable ahead in the game, the pass rush was ferocious.
| RB LaDainian Tomlinson, Rush: 18 - 43 - 0, Rec: 4 - 15 - 0 (7 targets) |
Tomlinson found little running room and struggled to gain 43 yards. He caught four passes for 15 yards. With the Chargers falling behind quickly, the Chargers offense tried to pass its way back into contention, but the Patriots defense clearly had him targeted as the one player they had to stop.
| RB Michael Turner, Rush: 1 - 3 - 0, Rec: 2 - 14 - 0 (2 targets) |
Turner saw limited action and gained three yards on one carry. He also caught two passes for 14 yards.
| RB Lorenzo Neal, Rec: 1 - 1 - 1 (1 targets) |
Primarily the blocking back for Tomlinson, Neal slipped out into the right flat early in the fourth quarter to catch a one yard touchdown pass while the Patriot defense was busy stacking the middle of the line.
| WR Vincent Jackson, Rec: 4 - 53 - 0 (6 targets) |
Jackson led the wide receiving corps with four balls for 53 yards.
| WR Malcom Floyd, Rec: 1 - 19 - 0 (3 targets) |
Floyd caught one pass for 19 yards and struggled to get open.
| WR Craig Davis (4 targets) |
The rookie from LSU was held without a reception. Two of his four targets were intercepted by the Patriots.
| WR Eric Parker |
Parker will miss two or three more games as he recovers from toe surgery.
| TE Antonio Gates, Rec: 7 - 77 - 1 (8 targets) |
Gates was the lone bright spot for the Chargers, catching seven passes for 77 yards and a touchdown. Without much help from the wide receivers, however, he couldn't do it alone.
| TE Brandon Manumaleuna |
Manumaleuna was used as an extra blocker but struggled. Roosevelt Colvin beat him for a sack which resulted in a Philip Rivers fumble.
| PK Nate Kaeding 0 - 0 FG, 2 - 2 XP, 2 points |
Kaeding converted both extra points but did not attempt a field goal.
| SD Rush Defense |
Maroney gained 77 yards on 15 carries while Sammy Morris added 51 yards and a touchdown. The Patriots gained 144 yards on the ground but relied on Brady's arm to take control of this game.
| SD Pass Defense |
Tom Brady carved up the San Diego secondary at will. He completed 25 of 31 for 279 yards, Moss gained 105 yards and scored twice, while Wes Welker added another 91 yards. Brady passed for 279 yards and three touchdowns but it could easily have been more.
| QB Tom Brady, Pass: 25 - 31 - 279 - 3 TD / 1 INT, Rush: 1 - 2 - 0 |
Brady spread the ball around to six different receivers with surgical precision. His favorite target was Randy Moss, but Brady appeared to have his choice as to which open Patriot receiver he wanted to complete a pass to. He wasn't perfect, hitting 25 of 31 passes for 279 yards and three touchdowns, but he was very close. It's difficult to evaluate his performance in just one word, but unstoppable, methodical, and mechanical are all accurate.
| RB Laurence Maroney, Rush: 15 - 77 - 0 |
Maroney did not catch a pass but gained 77 yards on 15 carries. He was often replaced on third down by either Sammy Morris or Kevin Faulk and was also missing at the goal line.
| RB Sammy Morris, Rush: 10 - 51 - 1 |
The veteran free agent pick up from Miami has a bigger role in the New England offense than many predicted. He gained 51 yards on ten carries and scored from the three yard line.
| RB Heath Evans, Rush: 2 - 6 - 0 (2 targets) |
Evans gained six yards on two carries in limited action.
| RB Kevin Faulk, Rush: 1 - 4 - 0, Rec: 1 - 9 - 0 |
Faulk had one carry for four yards, caught one pass for nine yards, and uncharacteristically dropped a catchable first down pass that hurt Brady's efficiency.
| WR Wes Welker, Rush: 1 - 6 - 0, Rec: 8 - 91 - 0 (10 targets) |
The clear second choice in the passing game, Welker caught eight passes for 91 yards and gained six more yards on a reverse. His quickness was too much for the San Diego cornerbacks.
| WR Randy Moss, Rec: 8 - 105 - 2 (9 targets) |
Moss and Brady look like they have played on the same team for years. They have remarkable chemistry, and Moss caught eight passes for 105 yards and two touchdowns.
| WR Donte Stallworth, Rec: 2 - 19 - 0 (6 targets) |
Stallworth has yet to play a major role in the New England offense, and only caught two passes for 19 yards. It appeared as though Brady could have completed more passes to him if New England was in a closer game.
| WR Jabar Gaffney, Rec: 1 - 6 - 0 (1 targets) |
In limited action, Gaffney caught one pass for six yards.
| TE Ben Watson, Rec: 5 - 49 - 1 (6 targets) |
With all of the weapons on offense, Watson was open whenever Brady wanted him. He scored the first touchdown of the game on a seven yard pass in the back right side of the end zone with nobody near him.
| PK Stephen Gostkowski 1 - 2 FG, 5 - 5 XP, 8 points |
Gostkowski missed wide right from 41 but converted a 24 yard field goal. He was perfect on all four extra points.
| NE Rush Defense |
LaDaininan Tomlinson struggled to gain 43 yards on 18 carries, and the Chargers only ran for 52 total yards. The Patriots played to keep Tomlinson from beating them and they succeeded.
| NE Pass Defense |
Philip Rivers was pressured throughout the game, and threw two interceptions, including one that was returned 65 yards for a touchdown by Adalius Thomas. Roosevelt Colvin had a standout game as he intercepted one pass, sacked Rivers twice, and forced a fumble.
