Passage: Facing their second West Coast game in as many weeks, the Patriots elected to practice at San Jos&#233; State University and to stay in Santa Clara, California in advance of flying to San Diego to face the Chargers in a Sunday night game at Qualcomm Stadium. On the first play of the game, Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers completed a 48-yard pass to wide receiver Vincent Jackson that brought the Chargers to the Patriots' 32-yard line. Three incomplete passes by Rivers from the Patriots' 7-yard line set up a 25-yard Nate Kaeding field goal that gave the Chargers a 3-0 lead. On their first possession, the Patriots reached the Chargers' 31-yard line, where Gostkowski missed a 48-yard field goal, his first such miss of the season. Four plays later, Rivers hit wide receiver Malcom Floyd on a 49-yard touchdown catch that extended the Chargers' lead to 10-0. The Patriots punted on their ensuing possession; the Chargers' Darren Sproles returned the punt 28 yards to start the Chargers' next drive from the Patriots' 45-yard line. A failed third-down conversion by the Chargers set up a missed 44-yard field goal attempt by Kaeding. An exchange of punts early in the second quarter gave the Patriots starting field position at the Chargers' 43-yard line; seven plays later, Gostkowski hit a 47-yard field goal to cut the Chargers' lead to 10-3. After a Chargers punt set up the Patriots' next drive to begin from their own 6-yard line, the Patriots went three-and-out and a Jerod Mayo facemask penalty on the resulting punt gave the Chargers the ball at the Patriots' 31-yard line. Four plays later, Rivers extended the Chargers' lead to 17-3 on a 4-yard pass to Jackson. The Patriots began their next drive with a Marques Harris strip-sack of Cassel that was recovered by offensive tackle Mark LeVoir; the Patriots then ran out the clock to end the first half. Starting from their own 22-yard line to begin the second half, the Patriots drove to the Chargers' 1-yard line on eight-straight Cassel passes or scrambles, the last of which was a 28-yard catch by Morris. However, the Chargers denied the Patriots the final yard needed for the touchdown on three straight downs, and on fourth down from the 1-yard line, Cassel was sacked to turn the ball over on downs. A 59-yard reception by Jackson on the second play of the Chargers' next drive as well as a 32-yard defensive pass interference penalty on Hobbs brought the Chargers to the Patriots' 1-yard line, where tight end Antonio Gates caught a 1-yard pass from Rivers that extended the Chargers' lead to 24-3. On the next play from scrimmage, Cassel was intercepted by cornerback Quentin Jammer, giving the Chargers the ball on the Patriots' 26-yard line; Kaeding would later hit a 35-yard field goal to give the Chargers a 27-3 lead. A three-and-out by the Patriots on their next possession led to a 13-play, 77-yard Chargers drive that ended with the Patriots not allowing the Chargers past the Patriots' 5-yard line on three straight plays. On fourth down, Kaeding completed a 23-yard field goal that made the score 30-3 in favor of the Chargers early in the fourth quarter. The Patriots' next drive spanned six plays and lost two yards total, ending in a 23-yard Hanson punt on 4th-and-25. However, the Chargers gave the ball right back to the Patriots on the first play of their ensuing possession, a fumble by running back Jacob Hester. Starting from the Chargers' 46-yard line, the Patriots drove to the Chargers' 1-yard line on seven plays, four of which were Faulk runs, and then scored on a 1-yard Morris touchdown run that cut the Chargers' lead to 30-10 with just over five minutes to play in the game. After a Chargers punt, the Patriots moved the ball into the red zone in the final minutes but no further to end the game and drop the Patriots' record to 3-2.
Output: How many points did the Chargers win by?