2006 San Diego Chargers season The 2006 San Diego Chargers season began with the team trying to improve on their 9 – 7 record in 2005 . They finished the campaign as the No . 1 seed in the AFC ending the season at 14 – 2 , best record in the NFL . The team would experience a home field playoff loss for the second time in the past three seasons losing in the final minutes to the New England Patriots 24 – 21 . Running back LaDainian Tomlinson led the league in rushing with 1 , 815 yards , as well as setting NFL single - season records for rushing touchdowns ( 28 ) and total touchdowns ( 31 ) . Off - season . The Chargers did not re - sign All – Pro quarterback Drew Brees to a contract , Brees had suffered a torn labrum in his throwing shoulder in the final game of the season , and turned instead to 2004 1st round selection Philip Rivers . Brees would later sign a contract with the New Orleans Saints as a free agent and make a complete recovery . Chargers ownership announced in January that the team would no longer attempt to place a proposal for a new stadium on the November ballot as they were not able to locate private partners to facilitate financing of the project . The team had begun talks with city officials in 2002 stating that Qualcomm Stadium was inadequate to meet the financial needs of the franchise , and that they needed the city ' s help in building a new stadium to remain competitive . San Diego is no longer in the Super Bowl rotation due to the NFL objections concerning the stadium . As of December 2006 , two cities in San Diego County are discussing a stadium for the Chargers : the City of Chula Vista and the City of National City . 2006 NFL Draft . In the NFL Draft , the Chargers used their first pick on Florida State cornerback Antonio Cromartie . They used their second pick on Auburn offensive tackle Marcus McNeill . The remainder of their draft picks were Clemson quarterback Charlie Whitehurst , Iowa State linebacker Tim Dobbins , Kansas State offensive tackle Jeromey Clary , Virginia kicker Kurt Smith , North Carolina defensive end Chase Page , and Virginia Tech offensive tackle Jimmy Martin . Training Camp . Expectations varied for the Chargers ' 2006 season . Questions centered on the play of the untested QB Rivers in his first season starting , and with the offensive line , especially at the crucial left tackle position . OLT Roman Oben injury in 2005 had a negative impact on all aspects of the offense and his replacement Lender Jordan ability to protect QB Rivers blindside was unproven . Jordan was injured in training camp and 2nd round draft pick OT Marcus McNeill landed the starting job and went on to have a Pro Bowl season . Defensively , the front seven remained talented and solid . LB depth was tested with Steve Foley ' s off - the - field injury however his replacement OLB Shaun Phillips 42 Tac 23 ass 11 . 5 sac came through with a major quality performance . The unit returned numerous key players , including nose tackle Jamal Williams , DE Luis Castillo , DE Igor Olshansky and 2005 Defensive Rookie of the Year Shawne Merriman , that made the Chargers the best team in the NFL against the run in 2005 season . Another area of concern was in the secondary , Cromartie , who sat out his last season at Florida State with a knee injury , is talented but inexperience was not expected to contribute right away . Cromartie filled the 3rd CB role for the team and pressed starting CB Drayton Florence for playing time . Safety play became more of a concern particularly with the arrest of DB Terrence Kiel by federal law enforcement officials on drug charges during the regular season and the re - injury to DB Bhawoh Jue knee . Regular season . Week 1 : at Oakland Raiders . " at McAfee Coliseum , Oakland , California The Chargers opened the season on September 11 , 2006 with a 27 – 0 victory over the division rival Oakland Raiders . This second game of a " Monday Night Football " doubleheader marked the first time the Chargers had shut out the Raiders since a 44 – 0 win in 1961 . LaDainian Tomlinson led the Chargers with 31 carries for 131 yards , while Philip Rivers , in his debut as an NFL starting quarterback , completed 8 of 11 pass attempts for 108 yards with one touchdown pass and no interceptions . The Chargers ' defense stifled the Raiders running game , holding Raiders RB Lamont Jordan to 20 yards on 10 carries , and recorded 9 quarterback sack s against Raiders QBs Aaron Brooks and Andrew Walter . Three of those sacks belonged to second - year LB Shawne Merriman . With the win , the Chargers extended their winning streak against Oakland to six games , while head coach Marty Schottenheimer improved his head coaching record against the Raiders to 26 – 7 . Schottenheimer also earned his 187th career victory , passing Chuck Knox to become the seventh - winning - est head coach in NFL history . That shutout also marked the second time ever that Oakland has been shutout in their own stadium , the 2nd being the Denver Broncos and the 3rd being the St . Louis Rams as the Chargers picked up their 6th straight win over the Raiders and started their season 1 – 0 . Week 2 : vs . Tennessee Titans . " at Qualcomm Stadium , San Diego The Chargers hosted the Tennessee Titans in their Week 2 home - opener , winning 40 – 7 . Tomlinson rushed for two touchdowns and tied Lance Alworth for the Chargers record for most career touchdowns with 83 . Vince Young spoiled the Chargers bid for a second straight shutout by throwing a touchdown pass late in the fourth quarter , though the 7 straight quarters of holding the opponent scoreless were the most to open a season since the 1977 Raiders . With the win , the Chargers went into their bye week at 2 – 0 . Philip Rivers completed 25 passes out of 35 attempts , racking up 235 yards and a touchdown . Week 4 : at Baltimore Ravens . " at M & T Bank Stadium , Baltimore , Maryland Coming off of their Bye , the Chargers traveled to M & T Bank Stadium to take on the Baltimore Ravens . The Chargers drew first blood as QB Philip Rivers completed a 31 - yard TD pass to WR Malcom Floyd . However , the Ravens would tie the game up with QB Steve McNair completing a 5 - yard TD pass to TE Daniel Wilcox . In the second quarter , kicker Nate Kaeding would give the Chargers some comfort , as he kicked a 34 - yard and a 54 - yard field goal ( a then career long ) to give San Diego the lead at halftime . After a scoreless third quarter , the Ravens slowly started to climb back . Late in the fourth quarter , after giving Baltimore an intentional safety ( instead of punting deep from their own end zone ) , the Chargers hoped that their defense could hold up and prevent any chance of a comeback . Unfortunately , McNair led the offense throughout the closing minutes and scored the game - winning touchdown with a 10 - yard TD pass to TE Todd Heap . With their loss , the Chargers fell to 2 – 1 . Week 5 : vs . Pittsburgh Steelers . " at Qualcomm Stadium , San Diego Hoping to rebound from their last - second loss to the Ravens , the Chargers flew back home and donned their throwback uniforms for a Sunday Night match - up with the defending Super Bowl champions , the Pittsburgh Steelers . The Chargers struggled early as their offense actually had −2 total yards , while the defense gave up a 9 - yard TD run by RB Willie Parker in the first quarter . In the second quarter , the Chargers continued to trail , as Steelers kicker Jeff Reed completed a 39 - yard field goal . San Diego would start to get back into the game , as QB Philip Rivers completed a 9 - yard TD pass to WR Malcom Floyd . In the third quarter , the Chargers charged right into the lead , as kicker Nate Kaeding kicked a 28 - yard field goal , while Rivers hooked up with TE Antonio Gates for a 22 - yard TD strike . In the fourth quarter , Kaeding put the game away with a 33 - yard and a 22 - yard field goal , while the defense squashed any hope of a Steeler comeback as the Chargers improved to 3 – 1 . Week 6 : at San Francisco 49ers . " at Candlestick Park , San Francisco Riding high from their win over Pittsburgh , the Chargers traveled up north to Candlestick Park for a Week 6 fight with their other state rival , the San Francisco 49ers . In the first quarter , San Diego struck first as QB Philip Rivers completed a 57 - yard TD pass to TE Antonio Gates , yet the Niners tied the game with QB Alex Smith completing a 15 - yard TD pass to WR Bryan Gilmore . RB LaDainian Tomlinson helped the Chargers retake the lead , as he got a 5 - yard TD run . In a topsy - turvy second quarter , points were flying everywhere . It began with 49ers kicker Joe Nedney kicking a 42 - yard field goal . Afterwards , the Chargers retook the lead as Rivers hooked up with WR Vincent Jackson on a 33 - yard TD strike , followed by Tomlinson getting a 1 - yard TD run . Then , Smith connected up with FB Moran Norris on a 2 - yard pass for San Francisco , which was followed up with the Niners getting a safety from an intentional grounding penalty . Tomlinson would get another 1 - yard TD run to end the quarter . In the second half , San Diego scored 13 unanswered points to seal the game , with kicker Nate Kaeding kicking two field goals ( 24 - yarder in the third quarter and a 44 - yarder in the fourth quarter ) and Tomlinson iced the game with one more 5 - yard touchdown run . With their victory , the Chargers improved to 4 – 1 Week 7 : at Kansas City Chiefs . " at Arrowhead Stadium , Kansas City , Missouri The Chargers flew to Arrowhead Stadium for a Week 7 fight with their AFC West rival , the Kansas City Chiefs . In the first quarter , San Diego fell behind early with KC QB Damon Huard completing an 11 - yard TD pass to TE Kris Wilson and a 21 - yard TD pass to WR Eddie Kennison . In the second quarter , the Chargers got on the board with kicker Nate Kaeding making a 39 - yard field goal , yet Kansas City would respond with an 11 - yard run by RB Larry Johnson . Kaeding made a 31 - yard field goal for San Diego to end the half . In the third quarter , both teams swapped touchdowns , as QB Philip Rivers threw a 1 - yard TD pass to TE Antonio Gates , while Johnson got a 1 - yard TD run . In the fourth quarter , RB LaDainian Tomlinson caught a 37 - yard TD pass and then threw a 1 - yard TD pass to TE Brandon Manumaleuna . Kansas City Chiefs kicker Lawrence Tynes ' s was good on a 53 - yard field goal to seal the win for Kansas City , dropping San Diego to 4 – 2 . Week 8 : vs . St . Louis Rams . " at Qualcomm Stadium , San Diego The Charger ' s needing to rebound from their divisional road loss to the Chiefs , returned home for a Week 8 fight with the St . Louis Rams . In the first quarter , the Chargers got off to a fast start , with RB LaDainian Tomlinson completing a 2 - yard TD run and a 38 - yard TD run . In the second quarter , the Rams climbed into the contest with RB Steven Jackson completing a 3 - yard TD run for the Ram ' s only score of the period . In the third quarter , San Diego gained some distance in their lead , as Free Safety Marlon McCree returned a fumble 79 yards for a touchdown . St . Louis would get a field goal , as kicker Jeff Wilkins hit from 34 yards out . The Chargers would also get a field goal , as kicker Nate Kaeding was good from 31 yards out . In the fourth quarter , San Diego RB Michael Turner would score on a 14 - yard TD run , while Rams QB Marc Bulger completed a 7 - yard TD pass to WR Shaun McDonald . The Chargers would respond with QB Philip Rivers completing a 25 - yard TD pass to Tomlinson , while Bulger completed a 6 - yard TD pass to WR Kevin Curtis , in favor of St . Louis . In the end , the Chargers ended up with the last spark and would improve to 5 – 2 . Week 9 : vs . Cleveland Browns . " at Qualcomm Stadium , San Diego The Chargers at home , donned their throwback jerseys and played a Week 9 fight against the Cleveland Browns . In the first quarter , both sides would limit each other to a field goal . Chargers kicker Nate Kaeding would complete a 29 - yard field goal , while Browns kicker Phil Dawson completed a 37 - yard field goal . In the second quarter , Dawson would help Cleveland take the lead on a 20 - yard field goal . San Diego a defensive touchdown as back as LB Marques Harris recovered a fumble in the Browns end zone . The Brown ' s would retake the lead with Dawson nailing a 42 - yard and a 30 - yard field goal . In the third quarter , the Chargers RB LaDainian Tomlinson got a 41 - yard TD run for the only score of the period . In the fourth quarter , Dawson helped the Browns by converting a 36 - yard field goal , San Diego continued to add to their total with Tomlinson getting a 7 - yard TD run . Dawson would get one more field goal ( from 35 yards out ) , the Chargers continued to score touchdowns as Tomlinson ran one in from 8 - yard out . QB Philip Rivers completed a 2 - point conversion pass to WR Vincent Jackson . Afterwards , Cleveland would get its only touchdown of the game , as QB Charlie Frye hooked up with WR Braylon Edwards on a 4 - yard pass . In the end , San Diego came out on top and improved to 6 – 2 . Week 10 : at Cincinnati Bengals . " at Paul Brown Stadium , Cincinnati , Ohio In a high scoring contest the San Diego Chargers overcame two 21 - point deficits to take down the Cincinnati Bengals on the road . The game started off with Carson Palmer completing 7 of his first 10 passes and with two short runs by Jeremi Johnson and Rudi Johnson plus a long pass to Chad Johnson of 51 yards the Bengals were dominating the Chargers going up 21 – 0 after the first quarter . The Chargers were able to get things working a little bit in the second quarter with LaDainian Tomlinson running a TD in from 9 - yds out to shrink the deficit to 21 – 7 , but a 7 - yd pass to Chris Henry finished the first half with the Bengals up 28 – 7 . The Chargers came out for the third quarter and rebounded with a 4 - yd run by LT and a 46 - yd pass from Philip Rivers to WR Malcom Floyd to make it a 28 – 21 game . Cincinnati responded by driving down field again however this time they had to settle for a field Goal to make the score 31 – 21 . Philip Rivers lead the Chargers down field with a 9 - play 80 - yd drive capped off with a 9 - yd strike to TE Brandon Manumaleuna to get within 3 making it 31 – 28 . But the Chargers defense lapsed again with no one covering Johnson when Palmer passed him the ball for a 74 - yd reception to make it 38 – 28 . The Chargers drove down field again and ended the third quarter in position to shrink the lead allowing the team to start off the final quarter of play with a 2 - yd run to make the score 38 – 35 . Then after the kickoff Chargers Linebacker Shaun Phillips sacked Carson Palmer on first down forcing a fumble that was recovered by the Chargers . A 9 - yd run by LaDainian Tomlinson gave the Chargers their first lead by the score of 42 – 38 . The Bengals came within one with a 44 - yd kick making it 42 – 41 , but the Bolts were not to be denied as Rivers led yet another drive down field ending with a shovel pass to Manumaleuna who wasn ' t covered to make the score 49 – 41 and the Chargers officially tied their biggest comeback in team history with LaDainian Tomlinson getting 108 - yds rushing and 4 rushing TDs and Philip Rivers passing for 24 of 36 and 337 yds with 3 TDs . With the win , the Chargers improved to 7 – 2 . Week 11 : at Denver Broncos . " at Invesco Field at Mile High , Denver , Colorado LaDainian Tomlinson made history by becoming the fastest running back to reach 100 career TDs by doing it in 89 games , eclipsing the mark set by Emmitt Smith and Jim Brown of 93 games . He also continued his march toward beating Shaun Alexander ' s single - season TD record by scoring 4 TDs to bring his total to 22 , just 5 short of tying Alexander ' s mark . Philip Rivers had a good day as well , throwing 19 of 26 for 222 yards and two TDs , although he did throw two picks including a 31 - yard interception return for a TD by Denver cornerback Darrent Williams . The game started out with Tomlinson running it in from 3 yards out to make it 7 – 0 San Diego . Denver ' s Mike Bell ran for two TDs in during the 2nd quarter to make it a 14 – 7 Denver lead at halftime . After the break , Denver continued the scoring with an Jason Elam ' s 42 - yd field goal and Williams INT return to make it a 24 – 7 lead for Denver . But just like last week against the Bengals , the Chargers wouldn ' t say die putting together two scoring drives including a 3 - yard run by LT , his 100th TD , and a 51 - yd pass to LT by Rivers to cut the lead to 24 – 21 at the end of the third quarter . Elam helped the Broncos ' cause by hitting a 38 - yd kick to extend the Broncos ' lead to 27 – 21 , but that only lasted until Rivers found Vincent Jackson open at the back of the end zone to put the Chargers up 28 – 27 . On the ensuing Broncos drive , Drayton Florence then intercepted Jake Plummer ' s 4th and 4 pass to give the Bolts terrific field position that set up a 1 - yard run by LT to make it 35 – 27 ; it was his 4th TD of the night and 102nd of his career . That left Denver 1 : 14 to try to tie the game . They started that drive from their 3 and made it all the way to the Chargers 32 in part to a personal foul on Chargers defensive end Igor Olshansky , who was ejected for punching Broncos center Tom Nalen . The Broncos ' hopes for overtime ended when Plummer was sacked by Shaun Phillips and time ran out , giving San Diego their first win in Denver in 7 years as well as sole position of first place in the AFC West and improved their record to 8 - 2 . Week 12 : vs . Oakland Raiders . " at Qualcomm Stadium , San Diego LaDainian Tomlinson ran in 2 TDs and threw for one to give San Diego its third straight comeback win . He now has 21 rushing touchdowns on the year and brought his career QB record to 7 completions out of 10 attempts with 6 touchdowns . Philip Rivers on the other hand struggled completing 14 of 31 passes and throwing for only a 133 yds with no TDs and 1 interception . The Chargers swept the Raiders and have now won 7 straight from Oakland . The scoring started with the Raiders making it 7 – 0 after a 1 - yd pass from Aaron Brooks to Reshard Lee . The Chargers answered back when Antonio Cromartie returned the ensuing kick 91 - yds which setup a 2 - yd run by LT to tie the score at 7 – 7 going into the half . The Raiders took the lead again on a catch and run by rookie John Madsen that setup a 2 - yd pass from Brooks to Madsen to make it 14 – 7 Oakland . On 4th and 2 Rivers passed to Vincent Jackson for a first down , but Jackson proceeded to getup and throw the ball forward in celebration , the problem was that he hadn ' t been touched down . The initially ruling was that it was a fumble and Oakland ' s ball , however after the officials got together for a conference they declared that since it was an illegal forward fumble that it was technically an illegal forward pass and San Diego was then given back the ball and penalizied 5 - yds which was still enough for the first down . The game continued and on the next play , Rivers pitched the ball to Tomlinson as if it were a run play but then threw the ball to an open Antonio Gates to tie the score 14 – 14 . After forcing Oakland to punt the Chargers drove down field and LT ran it in from 10 - yds out to give the Chargers the 21 – 14 win . With the win , the Chargers had won 7 straight games over the Raiders and improved their record to 9 - 2 . Week 13 : at Buffalo Bills . " at Ralph Wilson Stadium , Buffalo , New York Coming off a season - sweep over the Raiders , the Chargers flew to Ralph Wilson Stadium for a cold Week 13 fight against the throwback - clad Buffalo Bills . This game would also mark the return of San Diego ' s star linebacker Shawne Merriman after his four - game suspension for failing a test for performance enhancing drugs . In the first quarter , the Chargers drew first blood with kicker Nate Kaeding ' s 42 - yard field goal and RB LaDainian Tomlinson ' s 51 - yard TD run . In the second quarter , San Diego got the only score of the period with QB Philip Rivers completing an 11 - yard TD pass to TE Antonio Gates . In the third quarter , the Bills started to come back with QB J . P . Losman completing a 5 - yard TD pass to TE Robert Royal , while RB Willis McGahee got a 2 - yard TD run . In the fourth quarter , the Chargers distanced themselves from Buffalo with Tomlinson ' s 2 - yard TD run . The Bills would get another touchdown , with Losman completing a 6 - yard pass to WR Peerless Price . San Diego would emerge as the victor . With their sixth - straight win , the Chargers improved to 10 – 2 . Week 14 : vs . Denver Broncos . " at Qualcomm Stadium , San Diego The game featured newly appointed rookie Denver QB Jay Cutler . In a stark contrast to the come - from - behind victory against Denver earlier in the season , San Diego scored early and often in this game , leading the game 28 – 3 at halftime . It was all Denver in the 3rd quarter , the Broncos closing the gap to 28 – 20 , but San Diego bounced back in the fourth quarter with 20 unanswered points , winning the game 48 – 20 . The win , as well as a Kansas City Chiefs loss earlier in the day , clinched the AFC West Division for San Diego . With the Indianapolis Colts also losing earlier in the day , San Diego gained the best record in the AFC ( 11 – 2 ) . In addition , with his 7 - yard rushing touchdown toward the end of the 4th quarter ( his third of the game ) , RB LaDainian Tomlinson broke the NFL single - season touchdown record ( 29 ) ( 26 Rushing , 3 receiving ) , set by the Seattle Seahawks ' RB Shaun Alexander ( 28 ) in the previous season . Week 15 : vs . Kansas City Chiefs . " at Qualcomm Stadium , San Diego After a 3 - point loss earlier in the year the Chargers were set to split the season series with the Chiefs . Kansas City meanwhile was reeling from a loss against Baltimore , and the death of the team ' s owner , Lamar Hunt . In this game the Charger ' s were again led to victory by LaDainian Tomlinson who scored twice , breaking the NFL single - season scoring record held by Paul Hornung for the last 46 years . The latter was an 85 yard touchdown rush which is the longest of his career . He also broke Shaun Alexander and Priest Holmes ' s shared Single Season Rushing TD record by getting 28 rushing touchdowns and added to the record he set last week for total touchdowns with 31 ( 28 rushing , 3 receiving ) . Moreover , he set the record for most consecutive Multi - Touchdown Games with 8 . With the win , The Chargers improved to 12 - 2 . Week 16 : at Seattle Seahawks . " at Qwest Field , Seattle , Washington San Diego took the lead late in the second quarter when Philip Rivers threw a TD to WR Vincent Jackson , giving San Diego a 7 – 0 lead going into halftime . Rivers had a bad first half completing only 1 of 10 passes , the only completion being a touchdown . The 3rd quarter saw San Diego add to their lead making it 10 – 0 . But Seattle RB Shaun Alexander narrowed the gap with a rushing TD making it 10 – 7 , San Diego would answer back with a field goal to make it 13 – 7 , but on Seattle ' s ensuing drive they allowed another Alexander TD to make the score 14 – 13 and they would allow a field goal to give Seattle a 17 – 13 lead . With time running out San Diego drove down the field and Rivers would connect with a 37 - yd pass to Jackson to give the Chargers a 20 – 17 lead with only : 29 seconds remaining . The defense would hold and the Chargers continued their winning ways setting a team record 13th win . The win also clinched a first round bye and setup the Chargers to control their own destiny the next week against Arizona , as a win would clinch them homefield advantage throughout the playoffs . With the win , the Chargers improved to 13 - 2 . Week 17 : vs . Arizona Cardinals . " at Qualcomm Stadium , San Diego With the San Diego Chargers on their way to owning the AFC ' s top seed in the playoffs , Rivers threw two touchdown passes after injuring his right foot , and LaDainian Tomlinson also limped off after wrapping up his first NFL rushing title in leading the Chargers to a 27 – 20 win over the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday . The Chargers clinched home - field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs . They ' d already earned a first - round bye , which will give Rivers and Tomlinson time to heal . Their exact injuries weren ' t disclosed . Tomlinson ran for 66 yards , giving him 1 , 815 and the league rushing title . He beat Larry Johnson of the division rival Kansas City Chiefs , who had 1 , 789 . Tomlinson did not score for the second straight game , but he is already was the league ' s most prolific scorer in a single season , with 31 touchdowns and 186 points . With the win , the Chargers finished the season at 14 - 2 . Playoffs . The Chargers had a first - round bye as a result of being the number one seed in the AFC . AFC : New England Patriots 24 , San Diego Chargers 21 . " at Qualcomm Stadium , San Diego " In the divisional playoffs , the New England Patriots faced San Diego Chargers team , who were unbeaten at home in the regular season . The favored Chargers boasted a roster that included league MVP running back LaDainian Tomlinson , who shattered several league records , nine Pro Bowlers , and five All - Pro players . However four turnovers , three of which were converted into Patriots scoring drives , eventually led to the demise of the Chargers . San Diego ended up losing despite outgaining the Patriots in rushing yards , 148 – 51 and total yards , 352 – 327 , while also intercepting three passes from Tom Brady . In the first quarter , after San Diego coach Marty Schottenheimer opted to go for it on 4th - and - 11 instead of attempting a 47 - yard field goal , quarterback Philip Rivers lost a fumble while being sacked by Mike Vrabel , setting up Stephen Gostkowski ' s 51 - yard field goal with 40 seconds left in the period . In the second quarter , Chargers receiver Eric Parker ' s 13 - yard punt return set up a 48 - yard scoring drive that ended with LaDainian Tomlinson ' s 2 - yard touchdown run , giving his team a 7 – 3 lead . Then , on the Patriots ' next drive , linebacker Donnie Edwards intercepted a pass from Brady and returned it to the 41 - yard line . But the Chargers ended up punting after Rivers was sacked on third down by defensive back Artrell Hawkins . Later in the quarter , Tomlinson rushed twice for 13 yards and took a screen pass 58 yards to the Patriots ' 6 - yard line , setting up a 6 - yard touchdown run by Michael Turner with 2 : 04 left in the half . New England responded with a 72 - yard scoring drive , with receiver Jabar Gaffney catching four passes for 46 yards , including a 7 - yard touchdown reception with six seconds left in the half , cutting their deficit to 14 – 10 . In the third quarter , Brady threw his second interception of the game . But once again , the Chargers were forced to punt after Rivers was sacked on third down . Mike Scifres ' 36 - yard punt pinned New England back at their own 2 - yard line , and San Diego subsequently forced a punt , but Parker muffed the kick and New England ' s David Thomas recovered the fumble at the Chargers ' 31 - yard line . New England ' s drive seemed to stall after Brady fumbled on 3rd and 13 . Patriots ' tackle Matt Light recovered it and Chargers defensive back Drayton Florence drew a 15 - yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for personal foul . The drive continued and Gostkowski eventually kicked a 34 - yard field goal to cut their deficit to 14 – 13 . Then , on San Diego ' s next drive , linebacker Rosevelt Colvin made an interception of a Rivers pass at the New England 36 - yard line . The Patriots then drove to the Chargers 41 - yard line , but were halted there and had to punt . After the punt , Rivers completed two passes to tight end Antonio Gates for 31 yards and a 31 - yard pass to Vincent Jackson , setting up Tomlinson ' s second rushing touchdown to give the Chargers an 8 - point lead , 21 – 13 . New England responded by driving to San Diego ' s 41 - yard line . On a fourth - down conversion attempt , Brady ' s pass was intercepted by Marlon McCree , but Troy Brown stripped the ball , and receiver Reche Caldwell recovered it . Schottenheimer then called a timeout challenging the officials call of interception and fumble by McCree . The Chargers forfeited the time out when the official ruling of the play was upheld . Four plays later , Brady threw a 4 - yard touchdown pass to Caldwell . On the next play , running back Kevin Faulk took a direct snap and scored the two - point conversion , tying the game . Then , after forcing a punt , Brady completed a 19 - yard pass to Daniel Graham . Two plays later , Caldwell caught a 49 - yard pass down the right sideline to set up Gostkowski ' s third field goal to give them a 24 – 21 lead with only 1 : 10 left in the fourth quarter . With no timeouts left , San Diego drove to the Patriots 36 - yard line on their final possession , but Nate Kaeding ' s 54 - yard field goal attempt fell short with three seconds remaining in the game . After the game , the Patriots erupted in a controversial celebration , mocking the " Lights Out " dance of LB Shawne Merriman and stomping on the Chargers mid - field logo which made Chargers ' quarterback Philip Rivers and running back LaDainian Tomlinson confront Patriots players . Gaffney finished with ten catches for 103 yards and a touchdown . Tomlinson rushed for 123 yards , caught two passes for 64 yards , and scored two touchdowns . Pro Bowl . The Chargers had more Pro Bowlers for the 2006 season than any other team , with a total of 11 . This included QB Philip Rivers ( who did not play due to a foot injury ) , RB LaDainian Tomlinson , K Nate Kaeding , OLB Shawne Merriman , T Jamal Williams , OC Nick Hardwick , FB Lorenzo Neal , ST Kassim Osgood , TE Antonio Gates , LT Marcus McNeil , and LS David Binn .