National Football League
New England 35, San Diego 21
When: 4:15 PM ET, Sunday, September 18, 2011
Where: Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts
Temperature: 63°
Head Official: Walt Anderson
Attendance: 68756

Tom Brady threw three touchdown passes and became the sixth quarterback in history to pass for over 400 yards in consecutive games to lead the New England Patriots to a 35-21 victory over the visiting San Diego Chargers on Sunday.

Brady completed 31 of 40 passes for 423 yards and won his 29th consecutive regular-season game at home.

Deion Branch led the receiving corps for New England (2-0) with eight catches for 129 yards, and the tight ends did the scoring as Rob Gronkowski caught a pair of touchdown passes and Aaron Hernandez added one.

Vincent Jackson had 10 receptions for 172 yards and two TDs for San Diego (1-1), which turned the ball over four times.

Brady was ruthlessly efficient in the first half, completing 18 of 21 passes and leading scoring drives on all four of New England’s possessions before the break.

The big turning point came when the Patriots stopped San Diego on fourth-and-goal from the 1-yard line and then embarked on their second 99-yard drive in as many weeks.

This one took more than one play but the result was the same, with Brady hitting Gronkowski down the middle for a 10-yard touchdown.

The Chargers, who trailed 20-7 at the break, made a move to get back into the game in the fourth quarter by completing a 64-yard touchdown drive to pull within 20-13 and then forcing the Patriots to turn it over on downs near midfield.

San Diego spoiled that opportunity when running back Mike Tolbert fumbled on the ensuing possession.

Brady cashed that turnover in with a 17-yard touchdown pass to Gronkowski and New England added a two-point conversion to push the lead to 28-14 with 8:40 left.

San Diego scored again before the Patriots put it away on BenJarvus Green-Ellis’ 16-yard touchdown run with 1:54 left.
Top Game Performances
Rushing
San Diego   New England
Ryan Mathews Player BenJarvus Green-Ellis
12 Attempts 17
64 Yards 70
5.3 Avg Yards 4.1
1 Touchdowns 1
14 Long 16
Receiving
San Diego   New England
Vincent Jackson Player Deion Branch
10 Receptions 8
172 Yards 129
17.2 Avg Yards 16.1
2 Touchdowns 0
29 Long 33
Team Stats Summary
 
  Yards Scoring Defense
Team Tot Rus Pas TD FG INT Sck FF
San Diego 470 98 372 3 0 0 2.0 0
New England 504 94 410 4 2 2 2.0 2
Upcoming Games
  • New England will play their next game on the road against Buffalo. The Patriots have a W/L % of .000 after a win and .000 after a loss.
  • San Diego will play their next game at home against Kansas City. The Chargers have a W/L % of .000 after a win and .000 after a loss.