Adrian Phillips Pick-Six Fuels Patriots' Win Over Chargers In Los Angeles
BOSTON (CBS) -- Adrian Phillips made a diving interception, popped to his feet, and scampered 26 yards to give the Patriots a fourth-quarter lead, en route to a 27-24 victory over the Chargers in Los Angeles.
A former Charger, Phillips intercepted Justin Herbert twice in the game, with the second one delivering the late go-ahead score.
Mac Jones completed just 16 of his 33 passes (48.5 percent) for 186 yards and no touchdowns, but he didn't turn the ball over. Damien Harris ran for 75 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries.
Herbert was 18-for-25 for 223 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions.
The Chargers took a 7-0 lead on the opening possession, driving 75 yards on eight plays. After converting on a fourth-and-1 run up the gut while in the red zone, Austin Ekeler stayed on his feet and pushed a pile into the end zone for the opening score.
The Patriots responded, though, with a 75-yard scoring drive of their own. Carried largely by a 44-yard connection from Jones to Nelson Agholor, the drive was also helped by a defensive holding penalty on L.A. on a third down. Harris scored on a 1-yard run to tie the game.
The two teams then exchanged punts before Chargers running back Justin Jackson ran right through the Patriots' defense for a 75-yard run.
Herbert capped off that drive with a touchdown pass to Keenan Allen.
The Patriots failed to score on two straight passes from the 1-yard line, leading to a turnover on downs. But they forced a three-and-out before driving into the red zone. They failed to find the end zone, but Nick Folk kicked a 24-yard field goal to cut L.A.'s lead to 14-10. After an Adrian Phillips interception, New England kicked another field goal to cut the lead to 14-13 before halftime.
The Patriots briefly appeared to have taken a lead on the opening drive of the second half, when Harris ran up the middle for a 28-yard touchdown. But the score came back due to a holding penalty on Justin Herron, and Kendrick Bourne fumbled two plays later.
The Patriots, though, forced a Chargers punt and did end up taking the lead on a 48-yard field goal by Folk. The kick was good, and the Patriots led 16-14 with 3:39 left in the third quarter.
The Chargers regained that lead before the end of the quarter with a 48-yard field goal from Dustin Hopkins to make it 17-16 in favor of L.A.
The Patriots flipped that deficit into a lead when Adrian Phillips picked off Justin Herbert and returned it 26 yards for a touchdown. Jones completed a pass to Jakobi Meyers for the two-point conversion, giving New England a 24-17 lead.
The Patriots then forced a three-and-out before embarking on a seven play, 54-yard drive that took 6:56 off the clock. A 30-yard field goal by Folk made it a two-possession game with 2:19 left to play.
The Chargers found the end zone on the ensuing drive, with Jalen Mills giving up a 24-yard touchdown to Josh Palmer with 40 seconds left in the game.
Hunter Henry -- also a former Charger -- recovered the onside kick, allowing the Patriots to kneel out the rest of the clock and secure the victory.
The Patriots will head back out on the road next week, facing Stephon Gilmore and the Carolina Panthers in a battle of two 4-4 teams.
