• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Patriots visit Chargers in AFC championship game rematch

Oct 8, 2008 - 3:17 PM NEW ENGLAND (3-1) AT SAN DIEGO (2-3), 8:15 pm EDT

SAN DIEGO (Ticker) -- Sunday night's showdown between the San Diego Chargers and visiting New England Patriots shaped up as one of the season's marquee matchups. Now it could help decide which team makes it past December and which is left on the outside of the playoff picture.

It is a rematch of last year's AFC championship game, which the Patriots won en route to their fourth Super Bowl trip in the last seven years.

The two teams were expected to battle for conference supremacy again this season, but the one thing they share are stunning losses to the Miami Dolphins.

At least the Patriots have the ready-made excuse of losing their MVP quarterback, Tom Brady, to a season-ending knee injury.

New England has managed to stay afloat, squeezing out victories against the lowly Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers sandwiched around a 38-13 home loss to Miami.

The Chargers, who are off to a slow start for the second year in a row, can't claim the same mitigating circumstances, although they lost Pro Bowl linebacker Shawne Merriman for the year. And yet they have dropped three of their first five games, including last week's shocker to the Miami Dolphins.

Future Hall of Fame running back LaDainian Tomlinson has just one 100-yard game - and just one rushing play of 20 yards - and has been neutralized for the most part.

Quarterback Philip Rivers threw for three scoring passes in each of the first three games, but has struggled the past two weeks as the Chargers failed to score a first-half touchdown against Oakland and Miami.

The bigger concerns may be on the other side of the ball for San Diego, which ranks close to the bottom of the league in total defense and scoring defense.

The Chargers also fell in an early hole last season before regrouping and rattling off eight wins in a row to come within one game of the Super Bowl. But with the Denver Broncos off to a 4-1 start, San Diego cannot afford to fall that far back.

As for the Patriots, expectations naturally dropped after Brady went down in Week One. Although there are a mere half-game out of first place in the AFC East, they are entering what is likely their toughest stretch of the season.

Over the next six weeks, New England faces the Chargers and Indianapolis Colts (2-2) on the road and hosts the Broncos, Buffalo Bills (4-1) and New York Jets (2-2).

Matt Cassel, in his first season as a starter since he was in high school, threw for a season-high 259 yards, including a touchdown and two interceptions, in last week's 30-21 win over the 49ers.