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Four Ups, Four Downs From Patriots' 23-14 Win Over Chargers

BOSTON (CBS) -- The Patriots led their fans on a bit of an emotional roller coaster on Sunday night, but in the end the team was able to come away with a comfortable 23-14 victory.

For a good chunk of the night, it looked like a tough task to pick out four players who turned in positive performances, but a strong fourth quarter allowed the Patriots to come away with a hard-fought win -- their 10th of the season.

The victory sets up the Patriots to be able to clinch the AFC East next weekend at home against Miami. But before moving on to next week, here are the Four Ups and Four Downs from the 23-14 win over San Diego.

FOUR UPS

Jamie Collins
It says a ton about the second-year linebacker that he was at the center of the defense when the Patriots put forth one of their best and most complete defensive performances of the past few years.

With Dont'a Hightower out due to a shoulder injury, Collins took over play-calling duties. He clearly did a solid job, as the Chargers gained just 216 total yards and scored just seven points all night (one San Diego touchdown came on a fumble return).

But Collins' work also showed up on the stat sheet. He sacked Philip Rivers twice -- on a third down on the opening drive of the game to force a punt and later on a first-and-20 deep in San Diego territory -- and tallied a team-high nine total tackles. Eight of those nine tackles were solo, and Collins turned in a truly impressive game from start to finish and in all areas.

Brandon Bolden
The seldom-used running back made his presence felt when it was least expected, and he completely turned the game around.

Bolden rushed off the left end on a San Diego punt late in the second quarter, when the Chargers were leading 14-6. Bolden burst toward punter Mike Scifres and got his arm on the punt, sending it out of bounds and setting up the Patriots on the 25-yard line.

Four plays later, Tom Brady connected with Rob Gronkowski for a touchdown, cutting the San Diego lead to just one point.

On a secondary level, Bolden's block also led to Scifres leaving the game due to injury, which forced kicker Nick Novak into punting duties. That change helped the Patriots win the battle of field position all night long.

Considering the offense wasn't exactly clicking on all cylinders, the Patriots needed someone to step up on special teams. Bolden was that man.

Julian Edelman
The Patriots' offense went stagnant in the third quarter. They gained just 12 total yards on their first four drives of the third quarter, going three-and-out every time. They finally got a drive going early in the fourth quarter, but it stalled out at the San Diego 20-yard line, and they had to settle for a field goal.

On their next drive, they needed a touchdown to really stretch the lead to a comfortable point.

In stepped Julian Edelman.

To that point, Edelman had put together a nice game, catching six passes for 65 yards, but it was on a simple skinny post that he put this game away.

Edelman lined up in the right slot, broke toward the middle of the field and leaped to catch a high pass from Brady. Edelman came down with it and then shook off the pesky tackle attempt from Brandon Flowers. And at that point, there was nothing but green between Edelman in the end zone, and he ran all the way for the 69-yard score.

It was a play that really picked up the offense on a night where nobody was really functioning at a high level, and it was without a doubt the play of the game.

It was also the game of Edelman's career, as he set a career high with 141 receiving yards while hauling in the longest catch of his career.

Ryan Allen
Considering the New England offense was struggling so badly, the team leaned on punter Ryan Allen quite a bit. So credit the left-footed booter for his work on this night.

Allen punted five times, averaging 49.4 yards per punt, and he pinned the Chargers inside the 20-yard line four of those times. It wasn't until his final punt of the night that he sent one into the end zone for a touchback, and it was a subtle yet important reason why the Patriots' defense was able to do what it did.

FOUR DOWNS

Brandon LaFell
The Patriots might not have had to scrap for 60 minutes if Brandon LaFell could have just held onto the football.

LaFell made a catch near the first-down marker on a third-and-3. As he fought for the extra yard, he coughed up the football. Darrell Stuckey scooped it off the turf and bolted 53 yards for a touchdown, giving San Diego a 14-3 lead early in the second quarter and throwing a monkey wrench into the offensive game plan of the Patriots.

LaFell did come up with a chain-moving 11-yard catch on the next New England drive, which led to a field goal, so he responded well enough to finish with four catches for 41 yards. But that mistake was a doozy.

Tom Brady
When the TV networks play all of Tom Brady's career highlights prior to his Hall of Fame induction, it's safe to assume that no plays from this game will make the final cut.

To be sure, Brady did plenty in this game to help his team win -- a 5-yard scramble on a third-and-2 to help drain multiple minutes off the clock late in the fourth quarter comes to mind -- but he was not particularly precise in his passing.

And Brady's red-zone interception to Manti Te'o, on which the quarterback badly underthrew Rob Gronkwoski on what should have been a second touchdown connection for the duo, was a life-sucking play for the Patriots. It looked like Brady was afraid to step into the throw, on account of the two powder blue jerseys charging at him, and it cost the Patriots points prior to halftime.

"It was a bad throw," Brady said. "Just a bad throw."

Of course, he ended up with good stats, thanks largely to Edelman's and Gronkowski's yards after catch, and he won the game, which is all that ultimately matters. But this was a rare night when Brady was not on the list of the best players on the Patriots.

Third-Quarter Offense
It's not fair to single out Brady, as it was the entire offense that went into a shell in the third quarter.

The Patriots went three-and-out on four consecutive drives, gaining eight yards once, four yards twice and losing four yards once.

They finally got the ball moving in the final minute of the quarter with consecutive passes to Gronkowski, but it's not often a team can survive its offense going AWOL for so long.

Everyone on offense ought to buy a dinner or two for a pal on defense one night this week.

Bill Leavy's Officiating Crew
No, Bill Leavy is not on the Patriots, but he and his officiating crew land on this list anyway. That's how bad their call on Brandon Browner was, both in real time and slow motion.

The play came with 6:44 left to play in the third quarter, with the Chargers holding on to a 14-13 lead. Philip Rivers passed to Ladarius Green, and the tight end bobbled the ball as he ran across the field. Brandon Browner then lowered his shoulder and hit Green, popping the ball into the air and sending Green down to the turf.

Devin McCourty caught the ball and returned it 56 yards for a touchdown. Considering that came in the midst of the Patriots' offensive vacation, it was a tremendously important play.

But it didn't count. Browner was flagged for going "helmet to helmet" on Green, thereby negating the interception and touchdown and also giving the Chargers 15 free yards.

It was a bogus call, and it changed the game. That's a double whammy for an officiating crew.

"Yeah, that's exactly what I did," Browner said after the game, referring to leading with his shoulder and targeting the opponent's shoulder pad. "Nowadays, any time it's a big hit, they're liable to call for the flag or whatnot.

"I'm glad that we didn't lose the game because of that play," he also said.

Credit to the Patriots' defense, because Akeem Ayers came up with an interception later on that drive, but that was still a terrible penalty call.

Read more from Michael Hurley by clicking here, or find him on Twitter @michaelFhurley.

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