Pats' eyes on perfection
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Tom Brady bounced a couple of passes, sailed a few more and threw three to the wrong team.
Hardly perfect. Hardly mattered, either.
The New England Patriots still were too good for the banged-up San Diego Chargers. A far-from-vintage 21-12 victory Sunday in the AFC championship game sent the Brady Bunch back to the Super Bowl for the fourth time in seven seasons.
Next up is another date with the New York Giants, and a chance for the Patriots to give their 18-0 record a whole new meaning.
"I think you enter the season and you're hoping to put together a bunch of great wins and you realize there's challenges every step of the way," Brady said. "And to not have a letdown like most teams have — we had a few letdowns or times where we didn't play our best, but we overcame them."
Yet for everything the Patriots have accomplished — they're the only team in NFL history to start out with 18 straight victories — they're well aware they must win that final matchup to avoid being relegated to a footnote.
"We'll try to elevate our game for one last performance," said Brady, MVP in two of the three Super Bowls he's won.
All season long, coach Bill Belichick focused solely on the upcoming opponent. Showered by confetti on a postgame platform, the man of few words gave his team the OK to talk about the biggest game of all.
"Now we can look ahead," he said.
And prepare to see a familiar face in Eli Manning and the Giants on Feb. 3 in Glendale, Ariz. The Patriots finished off their exhibition schedule by beating the Giants, then wrapped up the regular season by defeating them in a 38-35 thriller.
The Chargers seemed to stand little chance, especially with star LaDainian Tomlinson injured.
Nursing a bad left knee, Tomlinson did not get off on the right foot and watched most of the game in a parka. San Diego kept it close by intercepting Brady a season-high three times, and trailed 14-12 through three quarters.
Brady made several stunningly poor throws that fluttered in the wind, Randy Moss was a non-factor for the second straight game and the highest-scoring team in NFL history sputtered all afternoon. Instead, the Patriots relied on Laurence Maroney's spins, cuts and helmet-rattling runs.
"There was history on the line," linebacker Tedy Bruschi said. "We recognize it, we acknowledge it."
Brady threw a TD pass in his 14th straight postseason game.
