Divisional Round: New England Patriots at San Diego Chargers (Qualcomm Stadium), with a Conference Championship spot at stake. Kickoff: Sun January 14, 2007 at 4:40pm. Winner advances to the Conference Championship. The losing team's season is over.[1][2]
The divisional round is where the bracket is supposed to take its real shape. New England Patriots traveling to San Diego Chargers at Qualcomm Stadium, with the league watching to see whether the better team or the better matchup wins. Bye-week home favorites carry the weight of expectation; the visiting wild-card winner walks in with no one expecting them and nothing to lose.
The bracket has narrowed to the teams that survived the regular season. New England Patriots and San Diego Chargers are two of them; the rest of the league is in scouting mode for the offseason. What happens in Qualcomm Stadium shifts the rest of the tree: a road favorite winning rearranges seeding expectations; a home upset shows the bracket math underweights heart.
New England Patriots versus San Diego Chargers in the Divisional Round. The teams who reach this round have already proven they survive a long schedule; the stats that matter most now are the ones that compress: scoring differential, red-zone efficiency, turnover margin. At this stage of the year, the simple math is that defenses tighten and the team that protects the ball wins more often than the team that scores the most. Whichever side of New England Patriots-San Diego Chargers cleans up the careless plays first usually walks out with the result. Conservative-game expectations should not surprise the reader; both staffs know exactly what worked all season and will lean hard on what travels. The early answer is the kicking game, where any swing of field position compounds.
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| New England Patriots | 12-4 | W3 |
| New York Jets | 10-6 | W3 |
| Buffalo Bills | 7-9 | L2 |
| Miami Dolphins | 6-10 | L3 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Baltimore Ravens | 13-3 | W4 |
| Cincinnati Bengals | 8-8 | L3 |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 8-8 | W1 |
| Cleveland Browns | 4-12 | L4 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Indianapolis Colts | 12-4 | W1 |
| Jacksonville Jaguars | 8-8 | L3 |
| Tennessee Titans | 8-8 | L1 |
| Houston Texans | 6-10 | W2 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| San Diego Chargers | 14-2 | W10 |
| Denver Broncos | 9-7 | L1 |
| Kansas City Chiefs | 9-7 | W2 |
| Oakland Raiders | 2-14 | L9 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Seattle Seahawks | 9-7 | W1 |
| St. Louis Rams | 8-8 | W3 |
| San Francisco 49ers | 7-9 | W1 |
| Arizona Cardinals | 5-11 | -- |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Philadelphia Eagles | 10-6 | W5 |
| Dallas Cowboys | 9-7 | L2 |
| New York Giants | 8-8 | W1 |
| Washington Redskins | 5-11 | L2 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Chicago Bears | 13-3 | L1 |
| Green Bay Packers | 8-8 | W4 |
| Minnesota Vikings | 6-10 | L3 |
| Detroit Lions | 3-13 | W1 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| New Orleans Saints | 10-6 | L1 |
| Carolina Panthers | 8-8 | W2 |
| Atlanta Falcons | 7-9 | L3 |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 4-12 | L1 |
One Mistake Ends a Super Bowl Run! (Patriots vs. Chargers, 2006 AFC Divisional)
Troy Brown’s Game Saving Strip On 4th Down 2006 AFC Divisional Patriots at Chargers (4K)
Chaotic Classic | 2006 AFC Divisional Round: New England Patriots @ San Diego Chargers | Mini Doc
Chaos Continued: 2006 AFC Divisional Round | New England Patriots @ San Diego Chargers | Full Chat
2006 Patriots at Chargers AFC Divisional Playoff
Madden NFL 07 - Patriots vs. Chargers | 2006 AFC DivisionalNew England Patriots None, San Diego Chargers None
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New England Patriots | 3 | 7 | 3 | 11 | 310132424 |
| San Diego Chargers | 0 | 14 | 0 | 7 | 014142121 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Patriots | Stephen Gostkowski 50 yard field goal | 3-0 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Chargers | LaDainian Tomlinson 2 yard rush ( Nate Kaeding kick) | 3-7 |
| Chargers | Michael Turner 6 yard rush ( Nate Kaeding kick) | 3-14 |
| Patriots | Jabar Gaffney 6 yard pass from Tom Brady ( Stephen Gostkowski kick) | 10-14 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Patriots | Stephen Gostkowski 34 yard field goal | 13-14 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Chargers | LaDainian Tomlinson 3 yard rush ( Nate Kaeding kick) | 13-21 |
| Patriots | Reche Caldwell 4 yard pass from Tom Brady ( Kevin Faulk run) | 21-21 |
| Patriots | Stephen Gostkowski 31 yard field goal | 24-21 |
New England Patriots defeated San Diego Chargers 24-21 at Qualcomm Stadium in the Divisional Round. The final scoring play was Patriots: Stephen Gostkowski 31 yard field goal. The result came down to the final possession; New England Patriots won by 3. Top line of the day: Tom Brady: 280 pass yards on 27-of-51, 2 TD, 3 INT. New England Patriots move on to the conference final.[1][2]
New England Patriots walked out of Qualcomm Stadium as the team that survived a Divisional Round San Diego Chargers will replay in its head for the entire offseason. The scoreboard says 24-21. The game stayed within 3 points throughout, the kind of contest where every drive felt like a referendum and every defensive stop carried twice its usual weight. The final scoring play came from Patriots: Stephen Gostkowski 31 yard field goal. Whether it was the game-decider or just the period at the end of the sentence depends on what the camera caught earlier. New England Patriots move on to a conference championship.
New England Patriots 24, San Diego Chargers 21. Round: Divisional Round. Attendance: 68810. Q1: 1 scoring play. Q2: 3 scoring plays. Q3: 1 scoring play. Q4: 3 scoring plays. Top performers:
- Tom Brady: 280 pass yards on 27-of-51, 2 TD, 3 INT
- LaDainian Tomlinson: 123 rush yards on 23 carries
- Jabar Gaffney: 10 catches for 103 yards
Divisional Round, played at Qualcomm Stadium. Final: New England Patriots 24, San Diego Chargers 21, with New England Patriots taking the result by 3. **First quarter**
- Patriots: Stephen Gostkowski 50 yard field goal
Second quarter
- Chargers: LaDainian Tomlinson 2 yard rush ( Nate Kaeding kick)
- Chargers: Michael Turner 6 yard rush ( Nate Kaeding kick)
- Patriots: Jabar Gaffney 6 yard pass from Tom Brady ( Stephen Gostkowski kick)
Third quarter
- Patriots: Stephen Gostkowski 34 yard field goal
Fourth quarter
- Chargers: LaDainian Tomlinson 3 yard rush ( Nate Kaeding kick)
- Patriots: Reche Caldwell 4 yard pass from Tom Brady ( Kevin Faulk run)
- Patriots: Stephen Gostkowski 31 yard field goal
Top performers
- Tom Brady: 280 pass yards on 27-of-51, 2 TD, 3 INT
- LaDainian Tomlinson: 123 rush yards on 23 carries
- Jabar Gaffney: 10 catches for 103 yards
A 3-point margin in Divisional Round is the kind of result that defines reputations on both sidelines.
| Patriots | Chargers | |
|---|---|---|
| Team totals | ||
| First Downs | 18 | 21 |
| Total Yards | 327 | 352 |
| Turnovers | 3 | 4 |
| Passing | ||
| Comp/Att | 27/51 | 14/32 |
| Pass yards | 280 | 230 |
| Pass TD | 2 | 0 |
| Interceptions | 3 | 1 |
| Sacks taken | 2 | 3 |
| Sack yards lost | 4 | 26 |
| Net pass yards | 276 | 204 |
| Rushing | ||
| Rushes | 21 | 33 |
| Rush yards | 51 | 148 |
| Rush TD | 0 | 3 |
| Discipline | ||
| Fumbles | 2 | 3 |
| Fumbles lost | 0 | 3 |
| Penalties | 4 | 6 |
| Penalty yards | 45 | 64 |
| Player | C/A | Yds | TD | Int | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NWE | |||||
| Tom Brady | 27/51 | 280 | 2 | 3 | |
| SDG | |||||
| Philip Rivers | 14/32 | 230 | 0 | 1 | |
| Player | Att | Yds | TD | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NWE | ||||
| Kevin Faulk | 6 | 25 | 0 | 7 |
| Corey Dillon | 8 | 18 | 0 | 5 |
| Laurence Maroney | 5 | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| Tom Brady | 2 | 3 | 0 | 4 |
| SDG | ||||
| LaDainian Tomlinson | 23 | 123 | 2 | 15 |
| Michael Turner | 3 | 24 | 1 | 17 |
| Lorenzo Neal | 3 | 5 | 0 | 3 |
| Philip Rivers | 3 | 3 | 0 | 2 |
| Eric Parker | 1 | -7 | 0 | -7 |
| Player | Rec | Yds | TD | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NWE | ||||
| Jabar Gaffney | 10 | 103 | 1 | 17 |
| Reche Caldwell | 7 | 80 | 1 | 49 |
| Troy Brown | 5 | 39 | 0 | 12 |
| Daniel Graham | 2 | 38 | 0 | 19 |
| Kevin Faulk | 2 | 11 | 0 | 6 |
| Ben Watson | 1 | 9 | 0 | 9 |
| SDG | ||||
| LaDainian Tomlinson | 2 | 64 | 0 | 58 |
| Antonio Gates | 6 | 61 | 0 | 19 |
| Vincent Jackson | 2 | 43 | 0 | 21 |
| Eric Parker | 2 | 42 | 0 | 21 |
| Lorenzo Neal | 2 | 20 | 0 | 11 |
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