Patriots vs. Chargers: Full Report Card Grades for San Diego
Philip Rivers will have to settle for 0-6 against Tom Brady as the Chargers fell to the Patriots 23-14 on Sunday night.
New England (10-3) trailed 14-3 in the second quarter before scoring 20 unanswered points to down San Diego (8-5). The loss snapped the Chargers' three-game win streak, but they still hold the final wild card slot in the AFC playoff picture.
An upset seemed evident for San Diego, but the offense failed to show up in the second half and the defense folded in the fourth quarter.
Here's how the units graded in Week 14.
Quarterback
1 of 10
New England came into Sunday's game without two of their top pass-rushers in Dont'a Hightower and Chandler Jones, but it really didn't matter who the Patriots put out there, because Rivers rarely had time to throw.
Rivers completed just over 60 percent of his passes and posted a QBR of 12.2. He was held under 200 yards passing for just the third time this season and averaged 5.7 yards per completion.
Since coming out of the bye, Rivers has thrown an interception in each of his past three games—his third came on Sunday night when he made a poor attempt to thread the needle in coverage.
The Chargers live and die with their quarterback, and if Rivers continues to have poor outings, his team's chances of playing in January don't look very good.
Grade: C
Running Back
2 of 10
Ryan Mathews neared 40 yards rushing on his first seven carries of the game, but when he was tripped up by Kyle Arrington, his game looked off the rest of the night. He finished with 44 yards on 11 rushes.
With Mathews hobbled by the injury, San Diego went to the run less often and finished with 17 attempts. Donald Brown added five catches for 49 yards.
Early on, it seemed like the Chargers would be able to run Mathews wild, but the injury swung momentum in New England's favor.
Grade: D
Wide Receiver and Tight End
3 of 10
Darrelle Revis shut down Keenan Allen, holding him to two catches for three yards.
Brandon Browner played Malcom Floyd pretty tight, but M80 beat him over the top for a 15-yard touchdown. Floyd added a circus catch against Browner as well and had 54 yards receiving on three grabs.
Antonio Gates had five receptions for 34 yards and Ladarius Green looked like he might put in a productive night until Browner cut his night short with a brutal shot to the head.
San Diego's receivers faced a tough matchup with New England's physical secondary, and they failed to produce the necessary yardage.
Grade: C
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Offensive Line
4 of 10
Same story, different opponent for the O-line.
Rivers was pummeled for four sacks, causing him to flip out on the boys up front. Having D.J. Fluker and Chris Watt was a better alternative than backups, but they both struggled with New England's pass rush as Rivers was hit seven times.
Jamie Collins and Rob Ninkovich combined for five tackles in the backfield as San Diego's rushing attack was limited to 53 yards. New England's man coverage didn't allow for the screen game to get working, which eliminated one of the O-line's few strengths.
Grade: D
Defensive Line
5 of 10
Corey Liuget brought it against the Patriots, totaling seven tackles with two for a loss. He often led the push up front that produced nine tackles in the backfield and held LeGarrette Blount to 66 yards rushing.
The D-line stifled New England's power running game and pressured Brady into some errant throws, but Brady eventually got the time he needed in the pocket to manufacture back-to-back scoring drives in the final stanza.
The defense performed well as a unit late into the game, but a lack of support from the offense allowed the Patriots to steal a victory.
Grade: B
Linebacker
6 of 10
Cris Collinsworth gushed over Melvin Ingram during the NBC broadcast, and he had reason to.
Ingram racked up six tackles, three for a loss, a sack and a pass defensed in an eye-opening performance by the former first-round pick. New England's O-line struggled to pick him up on blitzes and he beat them inside for tackles in the backfield.
Manti Te'o also came up big with two pass deflections, including an interception of Brady just before the half—his first career pick. San Diego's linebackers racked up six tackles for loss and batted down six passes.
Jarret Johnson put in an eight-tackle effort and Andrew Gachkar, who continues to improve with his newfound playing time, had five stops for the Chargers.
Grade: A
Secondary
7 of 10
The secondary did a bang-up job for most of the night until Julian Edelman gashed San Diego for a 69-yard score in the fourth quarter. Brandon Flowers was beaten inside and both he and Marcus Gilchrist missed tackles on Edelman.
Flowers was beaten for another touchdown earlier in the game when Rob Gronkowski outmuscled the smaller corner for a 14-yard touchdown.
Positives for the secondary included Darrell Stuckey's scoop-and-score, which was triggered by Jahleel Addae's hit. Shareece Wright was taken advantage of for a couple of completions, but he battled back to collect two passes defensed.
Grade: B
Special Teams
8 of 10
The loss of punter Mike Scifres to a shoulder injury in the first half put San Diego in a real bind the rest of the way. Nick Novak wasn't terrible in relief, but the Chargers lost a weapon in Scifres, who has been efficient in pinning teams deep in their own territory.
Novak's longest punt went for 51 yards and his shortest was 27 yards. San Diego didn't attempt a field goal, and returns were limited by New England's top-notch kick coverage.
Grade: C
Coaching
9 of 10
Mike McCoy told reporters he was doing what was best for the football team by opting to punt on 4th-and-short with 6:28 left in the game.
The Patriots picked up three first downs and drained 4:13 off the clock, leaving the Chargers with a little more than two minutes to erase a nine-point deficit. If I'm McCoy, I give the ball to my offense in that scenario instead of giving it back to Brady and hoping my defense comes up with another stop. Not his best call, but when your team has only converted 1-of-4 attempts on fourth down all season, I could see why he was a little hesitant.
John Pagano called a fantastic game on defense, holding the Patriots to just one touchdown in four trips to the red zone. His unit also forced four consecutive three-and-outs to start the second half.
Frank Reich's offense made it the red zone just once and went 4-of-13 on third-down conversions. Credit New England's defense for forcing the Chargers to punt on eight of their 12 drives.
Grade: C
Final Grades
10 of 10
| Positional Unit | Grade |
| Quarterback | C |
| Running Back | D |
| Wide Receiver and Tight End | C |
| Offensive Line | D |
| Defensive Line | B |
| Linebacker | A |
| Secondary | B |
| Special Teams | C |
| Coaching | C |
| Cumulative Grade | C |
I thought the Chargers had a strong first half, and after Stuckey's fumble return for a touchdown, I figured we were in for a massive upset to shake things up in the AFC. But things changed drastically in the second half, and it felt like the injuries to Mathews and Scifres caused San Diego to go into a tailspin.
With Denver up next, McCoy's team can't waste time critiquing this loss. The Chargers still hold a playoff spot, but that won't last if they can't finish the regular season strong.
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