Brady Rallies Patriots Past Chargers
SAN DIEGO — The San Diego Chargers gave Tom Brady one chance too many, and that's all the three-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback needed.
Brady and the New England Patriots shocked league MVP LaDainian Tomlinson and the Chargers yesterday, winning 24-21 to move within one win of their fourth Super Bowl trip in six seasons.
Brady overcame three interceptions, his career playoff high, to lead the Patriots to 11 points in 3:26 late in the game. He and coach Bill Belichick now have a 12–1 postseason record and are heading to Indianapolis for the AFC championship game next Sunday.
While the Chargers respected the mystique Brady and the Patriots had built with Super Bowl wins following the 2001, 2002 and 2004 seasons, they hoped to be the ones raising the Lombardi Trophy in Miami on Feb. 4.
San Diego had nine players voted to the Pro Bowl team and five to the All-Pro team. And it had been supercharged by Tomlinson, who became the most prolific scorer in one season in NFL history with 31 touchdowns and 186 points while winning the rushing title with 1,815 yards.
But Brady is the one who's been there before. And nearly always has won.
He left behind some frustrated Chargers, including Tomlinson, who went after an unidentified Patriots player when the game ended. Tomlinson ran for 123 yards and two scores, and caught two passes for 64 yards.
The winning points came on a 31-yard field goal by Stephen Gostkowski with 1:10 left. That capped a 72-yard drive highlighted by a 49-yard pass to Reche Caldwell, who left the Chargers as a free agent after last season.
Coincidentally, the man the rookie Gostkowski replaced, Adam Vinatieri, kicked five field goals for all of Indianapolis' points in a 15–6 win at Baltimore on Saturday.
With the Patriots trailing 21–13, Brady threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to the wide-open Caldwell with 4:36 to play. The Patriots tied it on a tricky 2-point conversion, snapping the ball directly to running back Kevin Faulk, who was standing next to Brady and ran through the middle of the line.
San Diego's Pro Bowl kicker Nate Kaeding was short on a 54-yard field goal try with 3 seconds left.
It was a crunching end to San Diego's season, and could lead to coach Marty Schottenheimer's ouster.
Behind Tomlinson, the Chargers went an NFL-best 14–2, including going 8–0 at home in the regular season.
Schottenheimer fell to 5–13 in the postseason, with Cleveland, Kansas City, and San Diego. Although he has a year left on his contract, at more than $3 million, he and general manager A.J. Smith have had an icy relationship for months.
Schottenheimer will no doubt be criticized for going for it on fourthand-11 from the New England 30-yard line in the fourth quarter rather than having Kaeding try a field goal.
