New England Patriots: Ranking the Pats Divisional Round Wins Since 2001

#2. January 14, 2007 New England Patriots 24 San Diego Chargers 21

Believe or not, this was the only time during the Brady-Belichick era in which the Patriots won a divisional round game on the road. It also remains the most recent road playoff win for the Patriots.

Entering the game as heavy underdogs against the team with the best record in the AFC–and a team with a perfect 8-0 home record–the Patriots were able to overcome three Brady interceptions in a comeback against the number one overall defense in the league.

Despite trailing 14-3 and 21-13, the Patriots never gave in. The key play of the game came in the fourth quarter when the Patriots were faced with a fourth down at the San Diego 41 yard line. Brady threw his third interception of the game to Marlon McCree, but McCree was stripped of the ball by receiver Troy Brown. The fumble was subsequently recovered by the Patriots Reche Caldwell and they were given new life. To add insult to injury for San Diego, Charger head coach Marty Schottenheimer challenged the play and it was upheld, making them lose a critical timeout late in the game.

The Patriots went on to score a touchdown and converted the game-tying two-point conversion to knot it up at 21. With just over a minute left, Brady completed a 49-yard bomb to Caldwell down the right sideline on 3rd and 11 to set up kicker Stephen Gostowski’s short game winning field goal. San Diego was able to drive into New England territory without any timeouts, but kicker Nate Kaeding‘s field goal fell short and the Patriots escaped with the upset victory.

After the game, NFL MVP and Chargers great LaDanian Tomlinson accused the Patriots of being disrespectful by dancing on the Chargers logo at midfield and an altercation ensued.

New England would go on to the AFC Championship game against the Indianapolis Colts the following week, losing a heartbreaking 38-34 affair despite leading 21-3 at one point.