The Chargers might still be playing if Marty Schottenheimer wouldn’t have used a challenge play on a obvious fumble by the Chargers that was recovered by the Patriots.  If the Chargers had that timeout they could have possibly gotten Nate Kaeding closer to the goalposts than 54 yards away.  He missed and the Chargers season ended.  This game really came down to Bill Belichick vs. Marty Schottenheimer and Tom Brady vs. Philip Rivers and the Patriots won both battles.

One big error that the Chargers made on offense is that they should have just kept running the football.  LaDainian Tomlinson was unstoppable as he carried the ball 23 times for 123 yards (5.3 ypc) with 2 TD runs.  He also caught 2 passes for 64 yards.  He could have definately handled a heavier workload in this game.  Michael Turner also wasn’t used enough as he carried the ball 3 times for 24 yards (8.0 ypc) with a TD run.  Antonio Gates was the leading receiver for the Chargers with 6 grabs for 61 yards.  Philip Rivers didn’t play well or poorly.  He completed 14 of 32 passes for 230 yards with an interception.

The defense gave a solid effort for three quarters, but they couldn’t stop Tom Brady and the Patriots in the 4th quarter.  Donnie Edwards had an awesome game as a going away gift for Chargers fans as they are likely to let him go.  He had 13 tackles and picked off a pass in the second quarter that led to a Chargers TD.  Drayton Florence also had a good game with 6 tackles and an interception, but many will only remember his crucial unsportsmanlike conduct penalty that helped the Patriots out.  The Chargers stuffed the Patriots running game as they carried the ball 21 times for only 51 yards (2.4 ypc).  The Patriots completed 27 of 51 passes for 276 net yards passing, but the Chargers did intercept 3 Tom Brady passes.

This loss in going to hurt for a long time because for three quarters the Chargers looked like the better team, only to fold up like a tent in the 4th quarter. 

http://scores.espn.go.com/nfl/boxscore?gameId=270114024