In 2006 Cheap Ja'Whaun Bentley Jersey , two years after their last Super Bowl appearance, theNew England Patriots lost the AFC Championship Game in Indianapolis. One thing became clear during that game: a wide receiver depth chart consisting of players like Reche Caldwell or Chad Jackson would be insufficient to get the team back onto the grand stage. Therefore, the Patriots re-loaded – big time.The 2007 Patriots, due to acquisitions like Randy Moss, Wes Welker and Adalius Thomas, were arguably the best regular season team of all time. The offense was deadly, while the veteran defense was stifling. With the (way overblown) Spygate-”controversy” in the back of its head, New England destroyed the rest of the NFL on the way to a 16-0 record, while winning games by an average of almost 20 points — the team’s +315 point differential is still an all-time best.Towards the end of the year, however, the machine that was the 2007 Patriots started to slow down. The team still won the AFC, though, and after beating the Jacksonville Jaguars and then-San Diego Chargers earned its ticket to the Super Bowl.Super Bowl XLII: New York Giants vs. New England PatriotsDate: February 3, 2008Stadium: University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale AZFinal score: New York Giants 17, New England Patriots 14The Patriots’ sixth Super Bowl appearance started with the longest drive in the game’s history. The Giants took 9:59 seconds off the clock and a 3-0 lead after being stopped on 3rd and 11. New England answered with a five-minute drive to take the lead on the first play of the second quarter. Laurence Maroney rushed the ball into the endzone from one yard out to put the Patriots ahead 7-3.After Stephen Gostkowski channeled his inner John Kasay and kicked the ball out of bounds, the Giants started their next series at their own 40 yard line. They moved the football well until Eli Manning was intercepted by cornerback Ellis Hobbs at the New England 14. While the Patriots’ offense had issues moving the ball in the second quarter, their defense almost came up with two additional takeaways. However Kyle Van Noy Jersey , the Giants recovered two fumbles by Manning. The Giants would also recover a fumble by Tom Brady late in the quarter. They were unable to capitalize and therefore the teams headed into the locker room at 7-3 in the AFC Champions’ favor.The first drive of the second half saw the Patriots march to the Giants 25 yard line. However, they came away empty as Tom Brady was sacked on 3rd down and the team — instead of attempting a 49-yard field goal — went for it on 4th-and-13. Tom Brady’s pass fell incomplete and the Giants took over.Neither team was able to drive the ball into scoring range until the Giants’ first drive of the fourth quarter, when they took a 10-7 lead. The Patriots relied almost exclusively on their passing attack to re-gain the lead; something they were able to do with 2:45 left in the game, when Tom Brady found Randy Moss for the touchdown.Up 14-10, the Patriots’ defense had to stop the Giants from driving 83 yards. They had a chance to stop them on 4th and 1 — but could not do it. They had the chance to intercept them with 1:20 left in the game — but could not do it. They had the chance to sack Eli Manning on 3rd and 5 — but could not do it. Instead, Manning found David Tyree, who somehow was able to come down with a 32-yard pass. Four plays later, the Giants were up 17-14. The Patriots had 30 seconds and three timeouts to answer — but could not do it.New England had its chances to win the game, as illustrated by the final drive, but came up short every time. The Giants, on the other hand, made the plays when they had to and saw the necessary bounces go their way. Add it all up and you get the Patriots losing their first Super Bowl of the Brady-Belichick-era. FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — Tom Brady typically shrugs off any mention of records or milestones he sets.But even he had to chuckle at the one he and Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers will mark when they meet in Sunday’s divisional playoffs.Brady, who will be 41 years and 163 days old, and Rivers, at 37 years and 36 days old, will combine to be the oldest pair of quarterbacks to face each other in an NFL playoff game, breaking the mark Brady held with Peyton Manning.“Nice http://www.patriotscheapshops.com/cheap-authentic-trent-brown-jersey ,” Brady said of the impending footnote. “Nice and old.”Sunday will be just the fourth playoff meeting between the teams, with the Patriots holding a 2-1 edge.Rivers enters Sunday with a 1-7 record against the Patriots, including 0-4 in games in Foxborough and 0-2 in the playoffs. Rivers earned his lone victory against New England during the 2008 regular season, when the Chargers were still in San Diego. Brady was sidelined for that game by a knee injury and Matt Cassel started in his place.Brady is 7-0 as a starter against Rivers .The Patriots (11-5), who captured their 10th straight AFC East title this season, will be seeking their eighth consecutive trip to the AFC title game.The Chargers (13-4) haven’t even been to the conference title game since losing 21-12 to the Patriots during the 2007 season.Rivers played in that game just days removed from tearing the ACL in his right knee. He limped his way through it while being intercepted twice and failing to throw a touchdown pass.It’s become the toughness brand for a quarterback that hasn’t missed a game since becoming the Chargers starter in 2006.Rivers, who led his team to five wins in its last six regular-season games and a road win at Baltimore in the wild-card round last week , said he’s tried to keep past shortcomings against New England out of his mind this week.“It’s not something you think about a whole lot,” he said. “It exists and it’s there but again, and I mean this, I don’t feel that I’m playing Tom. Certainly, it’s a Tom Brady-led team and we know how things work with the quarterback and the head coach that have the record attached to it. We’ve got a heck of a challenge.”It will also be a chance to earn a signature win for second-year Chargers coach Anthony Lynn, who has steered Los Angeles through its relocation and a season that included a game in London.To have another chance at this stage of his career to notch a playoff win against a New England team that has been the standard in the conference is an opportunity not lost on Rivers.“Fired up to have a shot,” Rivers said.Here are some things to watch for in Sunday’s game:ROAD WARRIORSOne thing that gives the Chargers confidence heading into Foxborough is their record away from Los Angeles this season.The Chargers are facing a Patriots team that is 8-0 in Gillette Stadium this season. But Los Angeles is 8-1 on the road , with its lone blemish coming against the crosstown Los Angeles Rams.“We have a tough football team, no doubt. I believe that. I think going on the road, it really doesn’t faze this team,” Lynn said.“We love ball David Andrews Jersey , we like playing football, we like competing and we know going into Foxborough, they’re undefeated there and they’re tough to beat, period. It doesn’t matter where you play the Patriots; they’re tough to beat.”TOUGH STREAKIn addition to earning his first postseason win over New England, Rivers will also be trying to help the Chargers end their recent struggles in the divisional round.Each of the Chargers’ past three trips to the playoffs have ended in this round — 24-17 to Denver in 2013, 17-14 to the New York Jets in 2009 and 35-24 to Pittsburgh in 2008.GORDON’S A GOChargers running back Melvin Gordon is expected to be active Sunday, despite missing the first practice of the week to rest the knee injury he sustained in their wild-card win over the Ravens. He was limited for Thursday’s workout, but removed from the injury report on Friday.Los Angeles’ offense is at its best when Gordon can take the pressure off Rivers. He had an 87-yard touchdown in last year’s regular-season meeting with the Patriots. He also has 12 touchdowns in the Chargers’ past nine games on the road, including playoffs.WEATHER FACTORThe forecast for Sunday in Foxborough is 29 degrees, which recently has been a good thing for the Patriots.They are 13-0 at home since 2011 in games in which the temperature was 32 degrees or colder .The Chargers contemplated staying on the East Coast after last week’s game in Baltimore, but ultimately decided to return to California to practice.Patriots coach Bill Belichick isn’t counting on the weather being that much of an advantage, though.“They’re a good football team. We’re playing the Chargers. We’re not playing the weather,” he said. “Whatever it is, it is.”