By Tim Peterson
(Inglewood) – Adrian Phillips’ pick six of Justin Herbert early in the fourth quarter gave New England a 24-17 lead and provided a spark to the Patriots 27-24 win over the Chargers Sunday before 70, 240 fans at SoFi Stadium.
The Chargers were up 17-16 entering the fourth quarter in what had become a back and forth battle but Phillips interception tuned the momentum in New England’s favor.
The Chargers got on the board first driving 75 yards on 8 plays on the opening possession. Austin Ekeler scored on a 5 yard run. Dustin Hopkins added the extra point for a 7-0 lead.
New England responded with a 10-play, 75 yard drive with Damien Harris bulling in from the one to tie it at 7.
Early in the second quarter Justin Jackson busted off a 75-yard run to set up a 5-yard touchdown pass from Herbert to Keenan Allen. The Chargers took a 14-7 lead with 12:35 left in the second.
The Chargers defense stood tall three minutes later when they stopped the Patriots on a fourth and goal at the two-yard line. They were unable to move the ball put however and had to punt the ball away from deep in their own territory.
After the punt New England took advantage of the good field position and moved the ball down to the Chargers six yard line. The drive stalled there and Nick Folk kicked a 24-yard field goal to cut the LA lead to 14-10 with 3:29 left in the first half.
Phillips intercepted Herbert for the first time late in the second quarter which led to a 48-yard field goal by Folk with 10 seconds left in the first half. The Chargers took a 14-13 lead into the break.
Neither team scored on its first possession of the third quarter. The Patriots turned it over on a fumble but the Chargers were unable to take advantage and were forced to punt.
Folk gave the Pats their first lead on the next series by drilling a 48- yard field goal.
The lead didn’t last long however as Hopkins hit a 48 yarder of his own to give the Chargers a 17-16 lead with 39 seconds left in the third quarter.
Then came the game changer. Phillips intercepted Herbert and went to the ground. However nobody touched him and he got up and raced 26 yards untouched to the end zone. Mac Jones then hit Jakobi Meyers on a pass over the middle for the two point conversion to give the Patriots a 24-17 lead with 10:11 left in the fourth quarter. It proved to be the back breaker.
After the Chargers were forced to punt the Patriots moved down into Charger territory where Folk kicked a 30-yard field with 2:23 left for a 27-17 lead.
The Chargers had one last gasp when Herbert hit Joshua Palmer, who made a great catch in double coverage, on a 24 yard touchdown pass with 40 seconds left to make it 27-24.
But the Patriots then recovered the onside kick to end it.
For the Chargers Herbert completed 18 of 35 for 223 yards and two touchdowns, but he was hurt by the two picks especially the one for six points. Jackson rushed for 79 yards on 3 carries but had to leave with an injury. Ekeler had 11 carries for 64 yards. Allen hauled in 6 catches for 77 yards.
Jones was also 18 for 35 for the Pats for 218 yards. Harris had 23 carries for 80 yards and a touchdown.
With the victory the Patriots improved to .500 at 4-4 while the Chargers dropped to 4-3.
Leave a Reply