23-20

Yesterday was far from the most impressive win of the Bill Belichick era but at the end of the day, a win is a win.

The San Diego Chargers did everything that they possibly could have to give the Patriots an easy win but in a very un-Belichick kind of way, they almost let the Chargers steal the victory.

San Diego fumbled the ball away three times, tossed up one interception, and committed a terrible false start penalty with :23 seconds left in the game that pushed Kris Brown's field goal attempt that would have tied the game from 45-yards back to 50-yards. Brown then hit the right upright, sealing the win for the Pats after the Chargers failed to capitalize on terrific field position gained when New England failed to convert a 4th-and-1 running play from its own 49-yard line.

The Patriots' offense was not sharp but Tom Brady did just enough to put up 23 points. Brady was 19-of-32 for 159-yards and one touchdown and the team combined for 51-yards rushing but it held up in the end.

The real stars for the Patriots was the young defense that is getting better with each passing week. Jerod Mayo recorded 11 tackles and recovered a fumble, Devin McCourty picked off Philip Rivers, and Rob Ninkovich and James Sanders also recovered fumbles for a defense that made enough big plays to cover up for the shaky offense.

Next up for the 5-1 Patriots are the struggling Minnesota Vikings. I wonder if Randy Moss wishes he were still in Foxboro because the ship is sinking fast in Minneapolis.