Patriots vs Chargers Recap
New England falls to 3-2 on the season after 30-10 loss @ San Diego
Offense: The Patriots played very sloppy and failed to execute in both the running and passing game, being held to a total of 10 points and 299 yards. In the first half, one field goal was all the offense could manage, as New England also missed a field goal in the opening quarter and had a couple of turnovers. Matt Cassel completed 22 passes for 193 yards, but could not get the ball to receivers on deep routes. Short gains or incompletions on first and second down forced the Patriots into a lot of long yardage situations. Wes Welker was the leading receiver with 9 receptions for 73 yards. Cassel did not have a passing touchdown and threw one interception. New England had 26 rushing attempts for 106 yards as Kevin Faulk and Sammy Morris split the carries. The only offensive touchdown for the Patriots came late in the fourth quarter with the outcome already decided. The offensive line did not play particularly well, as Cassel was forced out of the pocket on many passes and did not have enough time to look for receivers on longer routes. On rushing plays, runningbacks were often hit behind or near the line of scrimmage. Many expected this game to be the first real test for this team and they did not stay competitive at all. After the loss, Cassel said," We knew there was going to be a lot of energy in the stadium tonight. We knew that they were gonna come out and try to shut us out early. They did a good job. They got ahead, and we weren't able to really catch up and score points." Next week, the Patriots will again have to try to score a lot of points, as they face the Broncos and their high-powered passing attack.
Defense: The entire defense was pushed around early in the game and never recovered in allowing 30 points and 404 yards to an explosive Chargers unit. On the first two drives, the Patriots allowed a field goal and touchdown in falling behind by 10 in the first quarter. A missed field goal by the Chargers prevented more points from being put up. The Chargers added another touchdown to take a 17-3 lead at the half. By this point, the Patriots appeared to be completely lost on defense, giving up deep completions and consistently letting Tomlison convert first downs on rushing plays. The Patriots struggled to force long yardage situations and it set up scoring drives for the Chargers. In the second half, the defense began to wear out and the Chargers scored 13 more points, it could have been much more if the play calling wasn't so conservative. The defensive line was pushed backwards and failed to get any penetration on rushing attempts, and did not produce any pressure on passing attempts. The Chargers were free to do anything they wanted around the line of scrimmage. The secondary and linebcakers were completely beat in the passing game, as Philip Rivers threw for 306 yards and 3 touchdowns. The ease in which he completed deep passes was a surprise. Although the Patriots allowed only 98 rushing yards, it did not result in stops and reflected the fact that the Chargers were willing to rely on passing and longer gains to sustain scoring drives. The Patriots face a similar challenge when they play the Broncos next week. The strong passing of the Broncos will provide another tough challenge and we will see if better results come from that matchup.
Special Teams: Stephen Gostkowski made one field goal in the second quarter and missed another in the first quarter. He made his only extra point attempt. Chris Hanson punted five times for an average of 42 yards. New England averaged 21 yards on 7 kickoff returns and did not attempt to return any of the 3 Chargers punts.
By Chad Fukuoka
ProFootball-fans.com New England Patriots Correspondent