Adrian Phillips intercepted Justin Herbert and returned it 26 yards for a touchdown in the fourth quarter Sunday evening, helping the New England Patriots to a 27-24 win over the Los Angeles Chargers at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles.
Los Angeles (4-3) took the opening kickoff and went 75 yards on 10 plays, getting an Austin Ekeler five yard touchdown run for an early 7-0 lead. Running back Damien Harris found the endzone for the fourth straight game on the first possession for New England, scoring from one yard out to tie it up. That TD was set up by a 44 yard completion from Mac Jones to Nelson Agholor. Keenan Allen gave the Chargers the lead again on a five yard reception from Herbert early in the second quarter. Nick Folk hit field goals of 24 and 48 yards to cut the deficit to 14-13 at the half.
New England (4-4) jumped on top for the first time with another field goal from Folk of 48 yards with 3:44 left in the third, before Los Angeles kicker Dustin Hopkins also hit one from 48 to give the hosts a 17-16 edge heading to the fourth quarter. After the Patriots punted with their first possession of the fourth, Herbert on a third and 10 at his own 22 was intercepted by Phillips on an errant pass intended for Jared Cook. Phillips got up and took it down the left sideline for the score, and Jones completed a two-point conversion pass to Jakobi Meyers for a 24-17 advantage with 10:20 left to play. After Los Angeles was forced to punt, the guests took nearly seven minutes off the clock and Folk hit his fourth field goal of the day and the 30 yarder extended the lead to 10 with just 2:23 to go. Herbert would hit wide receiver Josh Palmer for a 24 yard touchdown with 40 seconds left on the clock, as Palmer went up and wrestled in the catch over Patriots defender Jalen Mills in the endzone. Hunter Henry, the former Chargers tight end, would put an end to a comeback thought when he recovered an onside kick to end the game.
Jones went 18-35 passing on the day for 218 yards with no touchdowns but also no interceptions. Harris rushed 23 times for 80 yards and one touchdown. The four game TD streak is the most for any New England running back since 2017. Agholor had three receptions for 60 yards, while Kendrick Bourne and Meyers caught four each for 38 and 37 yards respectively. Matt Judon, J.C. Jackson, and Kyle Dugger had four tackles each with Judon adding 1.5 sacks. Phillips had both the interceptions on the day for the Patriots. Herbert finished 18-35 passing for 223 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Ekeler (11-64) and Justin Jackson (3-79) combined for 143 rushing yards and a touchdown by Ekeler. Ekeler also added six catches for 60 yards. Allen also had six receptions for 77 yards and a score. Derwin James had seven total tackles and forced a fumble to lead the Los Angeles defense, as the Chargers dropped their second straight game. New England attempts to get over the .500 mark for the first time this season next Sunday when they travel to Carolina to face the Panthers at 1 p.m.
