Chambers not catching heat
FOXBOROUGH - Chris Chambers took the blame, but Philip Rivers didn't want him to have it.
The Chargers receiver and quarterback weren't on the same page with a first-quarter pass deep in Patriots territory and as a result, one of three trips into the red zone resulted in the first of Nate Kaeding's four field goals.
It was a scoreless game when San Diego had it third-and-goal at the 8. As Rivers dropped back, he looked for Chambers at the back of the end zone and started to throw, expecting the wideout to "spin back out." But Chambers turned the other way and Rivers had to double-pump. When he finally threw the ball, even though it was completed, Chambers had stepped out of bounds. That is why the wide receiver who had come to San Diego from Miami in midseason stood in front of his locker after the game and shouldered the blame.
It's also why Rivers tried to run inteference for his teammate.
"I think that is why Chris is the player that he is. That just tells you what type of guy he is," said Rivers. "He'll sit there and say that he ran the wrong route on a play. I could say a million times that I threw it to the wrong guy. That is just some miscommunication on the road."
Chambers wound up with a team-high seven catches for 90 yards, but while he agonized over the catch that wasn't, Rivers continued to lobby on his behalf.
"That didn't cost us the game at all," said Rivers.
No more worries
He had provided some bulletin-board material earlier in the week by suggesting it was the Patriots who needed to worry about the Chargers, not vice versa, but defensive end Igor Olshansky didn't have any regrets. Nor did he think any sort of apology was needed. "Why? I didn't say anything disrespectful," he said. "We laid everything on the line. There were two great teams out there and I think we gave the fans everything we could." . . . There was one testy moment in the Chargers' postgame interviews. It came when coach Norv Turner was being questioned about the injuries to LaDainian Tomlinson and Rivers. The fact that Tomlinson wasn't listed on the injury report Friday seemed to indicate he was 100 percent, at least as interpreted by a reporter who wondered why Rivers and Antonio Gates (who were on the injury report) played, but Tomlinson didn't. "Don't get into that," said Turner. "I mean, that's the stupidest thing you could ask. [Tomlinson] was not able to go. The doctors and trainers said he couldn't go." . . . Turner also faced some heat over his decision to punt on fourth and 10 at the Chargers' 36 with 9:21 to play and the Patriots leading, 21-12. Rivers called it "the right decision." Turner's thinking? "We've been playing good defense and they had a pressure package, and they had got us the play before [a good rush to force Rivers to throw it away]. We had the ball against Tennesee [in an earlier game] down 14 points with 10 minutes and scored twice." Of course, Turner probably should have been reminded that New England isn't Tennessee . . . There was so much advance news about the bitter cold weather, but nobody thought it had an adverse effect on the game. Rivers did concede, however, that while it wasn't as bad as he thought it was going to be, "It's the worst I've ever played in." . . . As for his partially torn right ACL, Rivers said he'd consider offseason surgery, but as he forced a smile, he offered, "I've got plenty of time now to figure that out."
Kaeding on target
Kaeding had missed at least one field goal in each of his four playoff games before going 4 for 4 on a tough day for kickers. Included in that stash was his first postseason field goal from more than 39 yards, a 40-yarder that brought San Diego within 14-12 late in the third quarter . . . With Kaeding healthy enough to handle the kickoff duties, the Chargers chose to make Dave Rayner inactive. Hobbled with a bruise to his non-kicking (left) leg since Dec. 24, Kaeding only had been used for field goals the previous three games, including last week's divisional win at Indianapolis. Turner didn't deny that it might have been a move that backfired, because Kaeding didn't have a good game with his kickoffs. "He was probably trying so darn hard and he continued to get under the football," said Turner. "He got under the football and the ball was hanging in the wind." . . . The Patriots bottled up vaunted return man Darren Sproles, who averaged just 21.5 yards on four kickoffs and netted a total of 16 yards on three punt returns . . . Sproles did have some flashes of brilliance from scrimmage, breaking off a 26-yarder that helped set up Kaeding's second field goal near the end of the first half . . . Antonio Cromartie had his third interception of the playoffs and 13th of the season . . . Cromartie also led the Chargers with nine tackles, seven solo. Stephen Cooper, San Diego's linebacker from Wareham and the University of Maine, had five solo tackles . . . The other inactives for the Chargers were cornerbacks Cletis Gordon and Paul Oliver, linebacker Anthony Waters, wide receiver Malcolm Floyd, tight end Scott Chandler, and defensive tackle Brandon McKinney . . . In their three playoff games, the Chargers scored just one touchdown and two field goals for 13 points in the first half. They put up 44 points in the second half . . . It struck some pregame observers as strange, but the Chargers never practiced their kicks or punts into the wind.
Jim McCabe can be reached at jmccabe@globe.com. 