The Pats did eventually pick up a 23-20 win, but it certainly did not come easy. The Chargers made it very late interesting, but Kris Brown missed a potential game-tying kick, sealing the win for New England.
The Chargers probably could have avoided being in that situation, but turnovers proved to be a huge problem for them. They turned it over four times — all in the first half — virtually taking points off of the board.
For the Patriots, though, any win is a good one, even if there was almost a repeat of an ugly loss from last year. Facing fourth-and-1 at midfield with just a few minutes to play, head coach Bill Belichick decided the Patriots would go for it. New England gave it to BenJarvus Green-Ellis, who was stopped behind the line of scrimmage, turning the ball back over to the Chargers.
Unlike last year, when the Patriots decided to go for it on a fourth-and-short and failed, the decision did not come back to haunt them. Brown missed the field goal and that was it.
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