Quarterback Philip Rivers played with a partially torn ACL and sprained MCL in his right knee. Tight end Antonio Gates played with a dislocated big left toe. Running back LaDainian Tomlinson started with a sprained MCL in his left knee.
It wasn’t the sort of injury report the San Diego Chargers wanted going into their biggest game since 1995. But considering that, the Chargers could have played worse in the AFC Championship game at New England on Sunday.
The Chargers (13-6) saw their season, and Super Bowl dreams end in a 21-12 loss to the Patriots (18-0).
San Diego trailed just 14-12 after Nate Kaeding’s fourth field goal with 8 minutes, 36 seconds remaining in the third quarter. It took a 6-yard pass from Tom Brady to Wes Welker with 12:21 left to play, and a 15-play, 65-yard drive by New England that ate up the final 9:13 on the clock to finish off the beaten-up Bolts.
The Chargers did some good things in the contest, such as intercepting Brady three times, holding Randy Moss to one catch and limiting New England to its second-lowest point total all season. But Brady converted three of four chances in the red zone, Laurence Maroney ran for 122 yards and Kevin Faulk had eight catches for 82 yards.
One can only wonder what the result would have been if the Chargers were at full strength.
Rivers had a reasonably good game for his condition, going 19 of 37 for 211 yards, 0 TDs and 2 interceptions. Without the pain and loss of mobility, who knows?
Rivers later said he had arthroscopic surgery on the knee the day after the Chargers beat Indianapolis in the divisional playoff game to clean out damaged cartilage.
“It wasn’t real extensive, but, I mean, really, that was the only way I would have had a chance to play,” Rivers said.
He was praised by teammates for his gutsy performance.
“Toughest guy on the field today, both sides,” Chargers’ center Nick Hardwick said. “There’s no way he should have been playing.”
Gates, who had 984 receiving yards and nine touchdowns this season, was hobbled by a dislocated big left toe. He had just two receptions for 17 yards on Sunday.
Tomlinson, the NFL’s rushing leader, was taken off the injury report by Friday but aggravated his knee right from the start. He ran twice for five yards and caught one pass for a yard, and was done after the Chargers’ second possession in the first quarter.
“I just didn’t have it,” Tomlinson said. “It wasn’t going to cooperate and I didn’t have any burst.”
Some people questioned why Tomlinson didn’t stick it out, as Rivers did.
Tomlinson explained that backups Michael Turner (17 carries, 65 yards) and Darren Sproles gave the Bolts a better chance than he could.
“He really couldn’t get started,” Chargers coach Norv Turner said. “He went and tried to go and just didn’t have the power to push off.”
Trouble in the red zone: During the season, Tomlinson had half of the Chargers’ 28 touchdowns in the red zone. He ran for 11 scores, caught two TD passes and even threw a scoring pass. They could have used him there on Sunday in Foxborough.
San Diego had to settle for three field goals after getting inside the Patriots’ 20-yard line. Chris Chambers stepped out of the back of the end zone before his catch on a pass from the 8 in the first quarter.
After reaching the 8-yard line again in the second quarter, Rivers’ pass to Gates was deflected by Patriots linebacker Tedy Bruschi at the goal line. And with 3rd and 1 to go from New England’s 4 in the third, former Charger Junior Seau shot the gap, tackling Turner for a two-yard loss.
“We get down there and turn those three into touchdowns, then it’s a whole different story,” Rivers said.