Patriots Live Blog: Pats Score 20 Unanswered Points, Beat Chargers 23-14
Final, 23-14 Patriots: A pair of Brady kneeldowns, and this one is over. It wasn't pretty, but the Patriots got the job done with a stifling fourth quarter effort. The Chargers gained just 105 total yards in the second half, scoring zero points. Give a few game balls to the Patriots' defense tonight, because they carried the team when the offense went to sleep in the third quarter.
Fourth quarter, 1:17, 23-14 Patriots:Tavon Wilson closed -- and closed quickly -- on Gates, stopping him just shy of the sticks on fourth down. It's all over now but for the kneeldowns.
Fourth quarter, 2:05, 23-14 Patriots: The Pats' drive stalled out, but they drained a good four minutes off the clock. Ryan Allen's punt bounced into the end zone, so the Chargers take over at their own 20, needing two scores and holding zero timeouts. They have 154 yards and seven points all night, so it doesn't look great for the San Diego offense right now.
Fourth quarter, 4:04, 23-14 Patriots: The Pats faced a third-and-2, and with nobody open downfield, Brady tucked it and ran up the gut, gaining five yards, moving the chains and keeping the drive alive. Now, the Patriots may very well drain this clock way down, forcing San Diego to use timeouts, and sealing this win.
Fourth quarter, 6:19, 23-14 Patriots: The Chargers faced a fourth-and-5 from midfield, and they ... punted. That's not exactly the best effort to win the football game.
The Chargers got there thanks to a 24-yard catch-and-run by Brown, who slipped through the middle of the New England defense. But Sealver Siliga sacked Rivers, and Phil was left to scramble for a short gain on third-and-11.
I would have gone for it there, because you might not get the football back again, but hey, NFL coaches like to play it safe, even if that means coaching to lose.
Fourth quarter, 8:41, 23-14 Patriots: One play was all it took.
Brady ran a play-action fake and delivered a high pass to Edelman, who ran a skinny post and then broke free of an arm tackle from Brandon Flowers. Edelman was off to the races, and he ended up with the longest reception of his career -- a 69-yarder to give the Patriots a much-needed touchdown.
Edelman now has seven catches for 134 yards and a touchdown. Not a bad evening.
Fourth quarter, 8:53, 16-14 Patriots: Short pass to Gates, short pass to Allen, deep incompletion to Royal, and the Chargers had to punt.
Edelman had a short return, but the Patriots were flagged for holding. Considering Edelman didn't plan on returning the punt until it bounced up at his gut, that's a penalty that hurts.
Nevertheless, the Patriots take over, looking to engineer a long scoring drive that puts this one away. That's proven to be much more difficult than anticipated tonight, so we'll see how it turns out.
Fourth quarter, 10:34, 16-14 Patriots: For the first time since it was 3-0, the Patriots have a lead.
Granted, this wasn't exactly how they hoped to gain it, as Brady's back-shoulder attempt to LaFell on a third-and-3 was badly misplaced, thereby forcing a field goal attempt. But Gostkowski drilled the 38-yarder, putting the Pats ahead.
The New England defense has been great thus far, but they'll need at least two more stops tonight to come out with a win.
A 14-yard catch-and-run by Edelman was the big play of that drive, but Blount was stuffed behind the line of scrimmage on the first-down play that followed. The Chargers have done a much better job of swarming him.
End of third quarter, 14-13 Chargers: Stop the presses and alert the president: The Patriots have picked up a first down!
This one came via two consecutive passes to Gronkowski, first a 9-yarder to the right side, then a 10-yarder to the left side.
Might that be the start of a real drive for New England? We shall see.
Third quarter, :38, 14-13 Chargers: Yet another defensive stop, which has been the story of this quarter, as McCourty disrupts Gates enough to force a drop on third down.
Novak booted a 51-yarder, which was pretty darn impressive, and Edelman returned it to the New England 24-yard line.
Third quarter, 3:09, 14-13 Chargers: The Patriots didn't exactly take advantage of that turnover, as they -- yup, you guessed it -- went three-and-out.
Ryan Allen's been really good, on the plus side, and the Chargers take over at their own 10-yard line.
Third quarter, 4:43, 14-13 Chargers: Well, that bogus penalty call didn't lead to San Diego points, as Philip Rivers didn't see Akeem Ayers over the middle, as the linebacker stepped in front of Rivers' pass and picked it off. Quite the play by Ayers.
Third quarter, 6:28, 14-13 Chargers: What a wild sequence. The Chargers completed a pass over the middle, finally picking up a first down, but Brandon Browner just absolutely demolished Ladarius Green.
Devin McCourty caught the ball after it popped up into the air, and he returned it 55 yards for a touchdown.
A flag was down on the play though, and the officials ruled that Browner hit Green helmet-to-helmet. This was simply a bad call. Browner hit the receiver shoulder-to-shoulder, textbook, to knock the ball loose. That's a bad one, and it swings this game tremendously.
Third quarter, 6:44, 14-13 Chargers: And ... another three-and-out. That's not exceptional.
Connolly got the drive started with a false start. Brady then ran a silly fake screen to the left/spin-o-rama/screen right to Gronkowski. It lost six yards. Vereen picked up seven yards on a short pass before Brady threw behind an open LaFell on third down. Punt.
First-and-10 San Diego from their own 33-yard line, thanks to an unsportsmanlike penalty on Brian Tyms. Considering the Chargers offense has been as dormant as New England's, that's a penalty that can't happen. (It looked like he said a "magic word" that drew the flag after the whistle.)
Third quarter, 8:21, 14-13 Chargers: Wouldn't you know it? Another three-and-out. This one came thanks to a Rob Ninkovich sack on a third-and-short, forcing another Novak punt. This one was much better, as perhaps the kicker is figuring things out. He booted a 45-yarder, and Julian Edelman couldn't manage to gain any yards on the return.
The Patriots take over at their own 44-yard line. Might they ... move the sticks on this drive? We shall see.
Third quarter, 10:26, 14-13 Chargers: In the third quarter, three-and-outs are wild. This one went incompletion to LaFell, 4-yard Blount run, swatted pass on third down, punt.
Keenan Allen (who's on the Chargers, which you may have forgotten, given the work of Darrelle Revis in covering him) fair caught the punt on his own 10-yard line. And so it goes...
Third quarter, 12:05, 14-13 Chargers: The Patriots' D answers the Chargers with a three-and-out of their own. Jamie Collins came bursting through the line yet again, this time stopping Branden Oliver two yards behind the line of scrimmage on first down. A second-down incompletion and a short pass on third down led to a fourth-and-4 for San Diego.
Novak's punt was another short one, and the Patriots will take over near midfield, looking to start it up for real this time.
Third quarter, 13:35, 14-13 Chargers: The Patriots hit the field to start the second half and ... promptly went three-and-out. Blount caught a pass for no gain on first down after Brady hoped to go deep but decided to think twice about that decision. Gronkowski made a shoestring catch on second down for a gain of nine, but Blount was stuffed by a host of powder blue jerseys on third-and-1.
Ryan Allen's punt scooted down to the San Diego 13-yard line, and the Chargers will take over there.
Third quarter, 14:55, 14-13 Chargers: Amendola returned the kick to the 19-yard line, and the second half has begun.
Halftime, 14-13 Chargers: Here are some halftime stats for you.
Tom Brady: 14-for-25, 171 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
Philip Rivers: 8-for-14, 77 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT
LeGarrette Blount: 11 carries, 46 yards
Ryan Mathews: 9 carries, 52 yards
Rob Gronkowski: 3 receptions, 55 yards, 1 TD
Julian Edelman: 4 receptions, 46 yards
Malcom Floyd: 2 receptions, 26 yards, 1 TD
Donald Brown: 2 receptions, 20 yards
Halftime, 14-13 Chargers: You don't see that very often. Tom Brady just ... screwed up. Mentally, physically, maybe a little both. Regardless, Brady goofed by underthrowing Gronkowski by a good 5 yards, right into the chest of Manti Te'o. The linebacker hauled in an easy interception, leading to Rivers taking a knee and running out the clock for the half.
That was just ... a brain fart. You don't see it out of Brady too often, and it came at the most inopportune time, robbing the Patriots of the chance to add points before halftime.
Second quarter, 1:32, 14-13 Chargers: Arrington's penalty turned out to not be much of a killer. Rivers foolishly underhanded a pass to Donald Brown, just as Brown turned his back to the QB on first down. Brown ran for five yards on second down, and facing the heavy rush of Collins on third down, Rivers had to throw it away.
Novak's punt was short, and the Pats take over at their own 39-yard line after a fair catch by Amendola.
Second quarter, 2:00, 14-13 Chargers: When you have the opponent facing a second-and-29, you can pretty much do anything except for giving up automatic first downs. And, well, I'm saying that because Kyle Arrington did exactly that.
Arrington got busted for tripping Ryan Mathews on a second-and-29 play that would have likely led to a third-and-19. Instead, the tripping call gave San Diego 10 yards and a free first down. Bad, bad mistake by Arrington there, as a third-down stop, plus a presumably weak punt by place kicker Nick Novak, would have set up the Patriots in prime position to score before halftime. Instead, the Chargers continue their drive.
Second quarter, 3:28, 14-13 Chargers: Rob Gronkowski. Touchdown.
Following a play where Brady scrambled for four yards to move the chains on a third down, Brady targeted Gronkowski, who was lined up on the left sideline 1-on-1 with Brandon Flowers. Brady simply threw it in 87's direction and let the big tight end do the rest. He hauled in the pass, spun into the end zone and even absorbed a late hit to the back from Jahleel Addae.
The play of that drive was Brady's heads-up scramble, as he stood face-to-face with Corey Liuget and threw caution to the wind by diving headfirst to pick up the key yards.
So the plays of the game thus far have been a fumble return for a TD and a blocked punt that set up a TD the other way. Crazy game, as per usual.
Second quarter, 5:31, 14-6 Chargers: Brandon Bolden: Part-time running back, part-time punt blocker.
The Pats came up with a three-and-out stop, thanks to Rob Ninkovich's pursuit of Rivers on a third-and-4. On the punt, Brandon Bolden simply burst from the left side of the line and closed in on punter Mike Scifres. Bolden blocked the punt, and the ball rolled out of bounds at the San Diego 25-yard line. That sets up the Patriots deep in Chargers territory, and we'll see if they can capitalize with an actual touchdown this time.
Scifres was injured on the play, so we'll see how that affects the game.
Second quarter, 7:38, 14-6 Chargers: Brady's pass to Vereen went incomplete in the end zone, and they once again had to settle for a field goal. That's 0-for-2 for the Patriots in terms of red-zone touchdowns, and given their hole, that's not likely to cut it tonight.
Yet the field goal does cut the Chargers' lead to one possession.
Second quarter, 7:47, 14-3 Chargers: The Pats converted that third down, with Brady fitting a pass into a tight window to hit Edelman, but they're now facing a third-and-goal from the 4-yard line. Brady had to call a timeout as the play clock nearly expired before the planned third down play.
Second quarter, 9:08, 14-3 Chargers: San Diego called a timeout with the Patriots facing a third-and-6 from the San Diego 11-yard line. They got there thanks to a huge 30-yard catch-and-run by Gronkowski and an 11-yard catch by Brandon LaFell.
Second quarter, 11:06, 14-3 Chargers: That one hurts.
Brandon LaFell caught a pass over the middle and then inexplicably fumbled as he fought for the first down. Darrell Stuckey picked up the loose ball and returned it some 50-ish yards for a touchdown. That's a bad, bad play by LaFell, and it immediately bit the Patriots.
Second quarter, 13:29, 7-3 Chargers: Brandon Browner has been a pretty solid cornerback this season. But he just got beat.
Malcom Floyd ran a little stop and go pattern up the right side, Browner bit on the fake, and Floyd made a diving catch in the end zone to put the Chargers on top. Mano-a-mano, Browner just got beat.
That was an 11-play, 80-yard drive from the Chargers, who responded well to that long New England drive and made the Patriots pay for failing from the 1-yard line.
End of first quarter, 3-0 Patriots: How about that for a first quarter -- just two and a half drives. That's pretty wild, but a near-8-minute drive will have that effect.
The Chargers are in the midst of a healthy drive here, thanks to an 11-yard catch-and-run by tight end Ladarius Green on a third-and-9. It'll be a second-and-6 from the New England 35-yard line when the second quarter begins.
Brandon Browner, the walking/talking human penalty, got called for a 15-yard facemask to start this drive off, which thus far has been San Diego's biggest gain of the drive.
First quarter, 3:09, 3-0 Patriots: The Patriots' drive looked destined to go nowhere, but Brady bought himself some time in his own end zone and then delivered a bullet to Julian Edelman for a huge gain of 19 yards. Edelman made a leaping catch while absorbing a heavy hit, which is par for the course for him.
The catch moved the Patriots into a first-and-10 situation at their own 24-yard line. They then went with a heavy dose of LeGarrette Blount, who rushed for 11 yards, ran for another six yards, and a few plays later, ran for nine yards. There's nobody wearing a powder blue jersey who is interested and/or capable of getting in Mr. Blount's way right now.
The Patriots then took Jonas Gray out of the bubble wrap for a couple of carries, setting up a third-and-1 at the San Diego 11-yard line. And the Patriots went to ... yup, LeGarrette Blount. And he easily picked up the first down, thanks to solid blocking from the offensive line and James Develin inside.
Facing a first-and-goal from the 10-yard line, the Pats handed off to Blount, who ran up the gut and barreled his way to the 1-yard line. On the next play, Brady's pass to Develin was tipped at the line, setting up a third-and-goal. Brady took a shotgun snap and was hauled down by Melvin Ingram, who bullied his way right through left tackle Nate Solder.
So the Pats settled for a field goal, but it was blocked. There was one problem with that block ... the Chargers were offside. So the block and return for a touchdown got the crowd excited, but it did not count.
Gostkowski hit the chip shot, and the Patriots lead 3-0. They wanted more, but the ease with which they moved the ball bodes well for them this game. That was a 17-play, 89-yard drive that took up nearly 8 full minutes off the clock.
First quarter, 11:11, 0-0: The Chargers put together a nice little opening drive, but the Patriots employed their famed "don't rush the QB at all" tactic on second down, leading to short completion, and Jamie Collins ran up the gut unblocked on third down, sacking Rivers and forcing a punt.
San Diego downed the punt on the 7-yard line, and they'll take over deep in their own territory.
Donald Brown, whom you might remember from his days at UConn, picked up a 15-yard completion on a third-and-5 early in that drive.
First quarter, 15:00: Stephen Gostkowski's opening kickoff went deep into the end zone, and the Chargers will start first-and-10 at their own 20-yard line.
8:25 p.m.: The first break of the night for the Pats, as they win the toss and choose to defer. A Belichick special.
Phil Rivers and the Chargers offense will get the ball first. Kickoff upcoming.
8:07 p.m.: Vince Wilfork sat down with Bob Costas, and he was asked about the Patriots having no room for bandwagoners.
"We've been great. We sucked. We was this. We was that," Wilfork said. "The only thing we have is our fans and what's in that locker room. When we were down, we were kicked a lot. When we're up, now all of a sudden it's 'the Patriots this, the Patriots that.' And I told all of our guys, we don't have time for that. The only thing we're concentrating on is what we have in here."
7:43 p.m.: All of the afternoon's games are in the books. Here are the ones that affect the Patriots:
The Broncos beat the Bills, thereby improving Denver's record to 10-3. That means the Patriots have to win tonight in order to maintain possession of the No. 1 seed in the AFC.
Not only did Buffalo lose, but Miami did as well. That drops both teams to 7-6 on the year. That means the Patriots just have to win two out of their four remaining games in order to clinch the AFC East.
The Jets also lost, dropping them to 2-11, which has zero playoff implications but is still just plain funny. Ha!
What's particularly cool about the AFC playoff race is that no team can take it easy and cruise down the stretch. The Patriots and Broncos both desperately want that No. 1 seed, and they'll be fighting hard through Week 17 to earn it. In the AFC Central, the Bengals, Steelers and Ravens all have eight wins, and the Browns have seven.
The AFC South-leading Colts (8-4) host the Texans (7-6) in a game that could make that race interesting as well. And as it stands right now, a tiebreaker is keeping the 8-5 Ravens out of the playoffs, while five teams sit at 7-6 and are champing at the bit to run the table and earn a wild-card spot.
It should all make for a pretty exciting three weeks of football, and these two teams playing tonight play central roles in the race.
7 p.m.: The inactive lists have been released.
Here are the inactive players for the Patriots:
CB Alfonzo Dennard
OL Cameron Fleming
DE Chandler Jones
LB Dont'a Hightower
RB James White
OL Jordan Devey
LB Chris White
The big name there is Dont'a Hightower. He's been immensely important in filling the void of Jerod Mayo, both in terms of making plays as well as calling them to the rest of the defense. Jonathan Casillas will draw green-dot duty tonight, which is no small task for a player who joined the team a little over a month ago. Chandler Jones isn't ready to play yet, but that's no surprise, and Alfonzo Dennard didn't do enough last week to prove he deserves a spot on the active roster.
Sealver Silliga will be making his return to the field tonight, as he was activated this weekend and is not on the inactive list.
Also of note: Rob Ninkovich won't be pressed into long-snapping duties, as Danny Aiken is back.
Here are the inactives for San Diego:
WR Dontrelle Inman
RB Ronnie Brown
G Jeff Baca
NT Damion Square
TE David Johnson
NT Ryan Carrethers
LB Cordarro Law
6:15 p.m.: Robert Kraft and Jonathan Kraft won't be the happiest men in the universe when they arrive at Qualcomm Stadium this evening. That's because his New England Revolution fell in extra time to the Los Angeles Galaxy in the MLS Cup. A great season, but a tough loss. They're familiar with such a result with the Patriots in recent seasons, come to think of it.
5:20 p.m.: It's always a long wait for football when the Patriots play in prime time, but the wait is nearly over.
The Pats and Chargers will kick off in San Diego tonight, and they are two teams in very different positions as the season enters its final month. The Patriots, at 9-3, are hoping they can win out and earn the No. 1 seed in the AFC. Meanwhile the Chargers, 8-4, are just hoping to punch their ticket to the postseason.
That goal is surely a tough one, as they'll face New England, Denver, San Francisco and Kansas City to close out their season.
Clearly, every game is a playoff game for the Chargers going forward, so expect their very best effort this evening.
We'll have every update right here, from pregame all the way through the final whistle, so check back often.
Read more from Michael Hurley by clicking here, or find him on Twitter @michaelFhurley.
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