Patriots get Charged Up and Hold Off San Diego
Monday, September 19, 2011
There really wasn’t much buzz beforehand.
Maybe the NFL just wasn’t ready for two high-powered offenses to meet this early in the season? Leading up to kick-off, it did seem like this game might be better suited for, say, mid-November instead of mid-September.
Yet, after two of the top teams in the AFC - perhaps two of the best in the entire NFL - were through exchanging blows, the Patriots had buzzed the San Diego Chargers 35-21 at Gillette Stadium.
"I’m really proud of our football team today," Bill Belichick said. "I’ll tell you, we had a lot of guys battle through stuff – coming off a short week, getting ready for this football team. The Chargers are a good football team, but ultimately the turnovers and getting the ball in the end zone was big for us. We had a lot of guys step up."
After holding the Chargers’ offense to one first down and a punt after taking the opening kickoff, the Patriots pressure offense went to work. Led by two Tom Brady to Aaron Hernandez receptions for 30 yards, including a 14 yard TD toss, the Pats took their first possession 92 yards in 12 plays over 5:47 for a 7-0 lead. Featured in the drive was a 19 yard connection to Chad Ochocinco that set up the TD play.
After that – the game was on.
San Diego immediately responded with a 7-play, 80 yard drive of its own, highlighted by two acrobatic, athletic grabs by receiver Malcolm Floyd from quarterback Philip Rivers. Not to be outdone, Brady engineered another drive, this one covering 59 yards and working its way into the second quarter, before the drive stalled at the Chargers’ 4 yard line. Stephen Gostkowski booted a 22 yard field goal with 13:20 to go in the second quarter as New England took at 10-7 lead. However, aided by a questionable roughing-the-passer call on Andre Carter against Rivers, San Diego then moved 75 yards to the Patriots’ one…only to be stuffed on 4th and goal as Mike Tolbert was turned back by Jerod Mayo and Patrick Chung.
Who figured the defense would come to play in this one?
"Spilled the ball outside, looked like we got a good push inside and the runner never really got turned up because he ended up going sideways and we were able to make the play," Belichick described afterward. "It was a huge play."
And it’s becoming clear, at least early in the season. There’s just no distance the Patriots’ offense can’t cover. Highlighted by a Brady to Ochocinco connection for 30 yards…Brady found tight end Rob Gronkowski for a 10 yard TD pass…capping a 99 yard drive with 2:49 to play before the half. That brought the score to 17-7 New England. As the Chargers attempted to move at least into FG position late in the quarter, the defense struck again. With :09 seconds remaining Vince Wilfork intercepted Rivers, returning the pick 39 yards before being chased down from behind. It was Wilfork’s first career interception, and after two quick tosses to Deion Branch, Gostkowski knocked home a 47 yard FG of his own as time expired, giving the Patriots a 20-7 lead at the half.
"We play a lot of situational football around here, and in that situation with two minutes, we kind of know what they were trying to do," Wilfork explained. " I wasn’t saying I was right, but I saw the running back take out, so I was thinking screen from the look I got from my guard and anticipating it could be a screen. I actually got in his throwing range, so I made a play and Bill always says if you take a chance you better make it. I guess I made it tonight. "
After the Patriots punted following their initial second half possession, Rivers took his team into the New England red zone at the 17 yard line in a time consuming drive, only to be turned away again by an opportunistic Pats defense. Sergio Brown picked off a Rivers pass at the Patriot nine yard line, his first career pick, ending the threat. A second straight Patriots punt (and an apparent injury to punter Zoltan Mesko) gave San Diego the ball at their 36…with 3:00 to go in the quarter. The pace in the period slowed considerably from the opening half of play, with both teams looking to extend drives by playing “keep away” from their opponent. The quarter ended at 20-7 Pats, but San Diego was positioned at the New England 24 yard line, poised to play their way back into the game.
On the first play of the 4th quarter, Rivers found Antonio Gates with a pass that was broken up by Brown, only to have Brown flagged for interference at the Patriots’ four. On 3rd and goal, Rivers, with plenty of time in the pocket, found Vincent Jackson from 3 yards away to make it a game again at 20-14, with 13:33 to play. With the Pats offense struggling to find itself in the second half, New England found themselves with a 4th down and 3 play at their 49 yard line with 11:41 to play. They came up short on a Brady-to-Branch pass attempt, giving SD great field position.
And giving Philip Rivers a lot of time left to do some damage.
Yet, it also gave the Patriots defense another chance to prove itself, and they did – forcing a Mike Tolbert fumble on the 39 yard line with 10:21 to play, recovered by Rob Ninkovich. And the turnover did seem to put a charge back into the NE offense. Brady fired a strike to Gronkowski from 17 yards out for a touchdown, and Danny Woodhead ran in a two point conversion to give the Pats a two TD lead with 8:40 remaining, at 28-14.
But the Chargers weren’t dead yet. It took them 8 plays to cover 80 yards, and Rivers found Jackson again from 26 yards out for the score that pulled SD back within a single TD at 28-21, still with 5:40 left to play. Ultimately, it put the ball in Brady’s hands to decide the outcome, which is exactly what the Patriots want.
BenJarvus Green-Ellis sealed the deal with a 16 yard TD run, 1:54 left on the clock…and the Patriot offense managed to drive another 80 yards (and take 3:46 off the clock) to get there. Ultimately led by another 400+ yard performance from Brady (423 passing yards total), New England finds itself 2-0 on the season with a 35-21 win, and again creating its own buzz around the NFL.
Post Game Notes
Deion Branch had eight receptions for 129 yards, and met the media with Tom Brady afterward. "I’ve thrown a lot of passes to him (Branch) over the years," Brady said. " There’s nobody that I enjoy playing with more than this guy. It’s always been that way. He’s my locker-mate and one of my great friends. He’s just everything you look for in a receiver." Brady threw for 423 yards on 31-of-40 passing (77.5 percent) with three touchdowns and no interceptions. Combined with his career-high and franchise-record 517 passing yards last week at Miami, Brady has totaled 940 yards in the last two games. His aggregate total of 940 yards in a two-game span marks the highest two-game yardage total of his career, and he becomes the first 500-yard passer in NFL history (there are 11, with the 517 he had last week) to follow his big performance with a 400+ yard game...
With the win over San Diego, the Patriots have now won 10 straight regular season games dating back to Nov. 14, 2010. Bill Belichick has become the second coach in NFL history with three separate 10-game win streaks, joining Pro Football Hall of Famer Don Shula who had four 10-game win streaks...the Patriots have now won 15 of their past 17 home openers, including a perfect 10-0 record at Gillette Stadium since its opening in 2002. The 10 consecutive wins by the Patriots in home openers is the longest streak in the NFL...
The Patriots have now won 17 straight regular season home games dating back to a 47-7 win over Arizona on Dec. 21, 2008. They own an overall record of 61-12 (.836) at Gillette Stadium in regular season games, and since the facility opened at the beginning of the 2002 season, the Patriots own the NFL’s best record at home...
The Patriots’ current streak of 10 straight games with 30 or more points is second in NFL history to the 14 straight games by the St. Louis Rams (1999-2000). Following Sunday's 35-21 win, the Patriots are now 63-2 when scoring 30 or more points under head coach Bill Belichick...
Wes Welker extended his streak to 63 straight regular-season games with at least one reception as a member of the Patriots, tying TE Ben Coates for the franchise record. With seven receptions Sunday against the Chargers, Welker has an overall streak of 80 straight regular-season games with at least one reception, including his time with the Miami Dolphins...Branch had eight receptions for 129 yards, marking his 10th 100-yard receiving game and his seventh as a member of the Patriots...
One-and-One - the "nitpick:"
When you put up offensive numbers like the Patriots did this week for a second straight week, it is hard to find fault with much of anything. However, what immediately comes to mind is the early inability for the defense to put any real pressure on quarterback Philip Rivers (they did have two sacks), which also resulted in the secondary getting off to a slow start. Vincent Jackson finished with 10 catches for 172 yards and two TD's for San Diego, so allowing him room to roam has to be a concern...
The "superlative:"
Easy to pick Branch or even Welker here, but I'll go with the two tight ends, Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez. Combining for 13 catches against the Dolphins, they combined for 14 more against the Chargers for 148 yards, and Gronk had two TD catches in a game for the third time in his career...
Sneak peek at next week - @ Buffalo:
It's an extraordinary streak they have going, and it has to end some day. But will a 15-game win streak over the Buffalo Bills end this next Sunday in Buffalo? Having swept the Bills by an aggregate total of 72-33 in two wins last year, the Patriots have not lost to the Bills since a 31-0 shutout defeat in Buffalo that opened the 2003 season. Since that time, the Patriots have a one, two and five point win to their credit...but also wins of 46 and three times by 31 points over the Bills. Buffalo is also 2-0 to start the 2011 season, after beating Oakland with a last-second 38-34 win at home Sunday...
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