October 17th, 2021 -- #LACvNE
Gillette Stadium -- Foxborough, MA
CBS -- 1:00 PM EST
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LAC - 7 / 7 / 0 / 14 // 28
NE - 7 / 3 / 4 / 13 // 27
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When you lose Tom Brady and Bill Belichick, you need a new identity. New England seemed to have found theirs behind a strong running game and a defense that scored registered two safeties in one quarter and allowed just seven points through three quarters of football.
And then a missed extra point, a decision to not kill the clock and poor tackling crumbled the game away. Definitely not the Patriot Way.
Rodrigo Blankenship's missed extra point with 1:54 left in the game proved costly as Los Angeles was able to score on a 78-yard catch and run by Amaron St. Brown to give the Chargers the 28-27 win over New England.
St. Brown caught the ball, made Leon O'Neal Jr. missed and then the rest of New England's secondary couldn't get their hands on his slippery, rain soaked jersey as he tumbled down the field for the touchdown.
This came just minutes after Sony Michel's second touchdown run of the quarter which gave New England the six point lead. When asked after the game why Michel didn't kneel at the one-yard line, Josh McDaniels doubled down on the decision.
"It's raining," said McDaniels, "A lot of things could go wrong with the field goal operation so going into the drive, once we reached the red area, we wanted to score and we did. We trusted the defense and they made a great play on their end and that's how games are won and lost in this league."
New England had a chance to come back with 1:36 left in the game but Justin Fields threw an interception to end the game.
Scoring Summary
Quarter 1
8:05 (NE) H. Ruggs III 45 Yd pass from J. Fields
7:54 (LAC) K. Fulton, returned kickoff 96 Yds
Quarter 2
2:48 (LAC) G. Everett 4 Yd pass from M. Trubisky
0:00 (NE) R. Blankenship, 17 Yd FG
Quarter 3
6:55 (NE) Team Safety
4:44 (NE) Team Safety
Quarter 4
12:10 (LAC) M. Williams 4 Yd pass from M. Trubisky
7:06 (NE) S. Michel, 17 Yd run
1:54 (NE) S. Michel, 18 Yd run
1:36 (LAC) A. St. Brown 78 Yd pass from M. Trubisky
Player Stats
New England Patriots (3-2)
Justin Fields, QB: 16 of 34, 174 yards, touchdown, 2 interceptions, 10 carries, 85 yards.
Sony Michel, HB: 37 carries, 238 yards, 2 touchdowns.
Henry Ruggs III, WR: 3 receptions, 61 yards, touchdown.
N'Keal Harry, WR: 3 receptions, 29 yards.
Jarvis Landry, WR: 2 receptions, 30 yards.
Isaiah Simmons, LB: 7 tackles, 3 tackles for loss.
Yetur Gross-Matos, DE: 4 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, sack, 2 safeties.
Los Angeles Chargers (4-2)
Mitchell Trusiky, QB: 14 of 26, 184 yards, 3 touchdowns.
Derrick Henry, HB: 14 carries, 37 yards.
Amon Ra St. Brown, WR: 3 receptions, 117 yards, touchdown.
Jatavis Brown, LB: 18 tackles.
Denzel Perryman, LB: 13 tackles.
Joey Bosa, DE: 7 tackles, 2.5 sacks.
Casey Hayward Jr, CB: 6 tackles, interception.
David Morris, S: 3 tackles, tackle for loss, interception.
