Photo courtesy of Jim Rogash/Getty Images

Game Rewind: Thanks to an opportunistic defense and several special teams gaffs by the Chargers, the Patriots were able to stave off Los Angeles 21-13 and improve to 6-2 on the season. 

Here are five thoughts on the game.

1. The Defense Once Again Played Well: The Patriots defense has really turned things around the last four weeks. After giving up an average of 32.8 points per game in the first four games, they have only surrendered 12.8 in the their last four games. Outside of Melvin Gordon’s 87 yard touchdown run, the Patriots kept the Chargers offense in check. 

2. Red Zone Woes Continue:The Patriots red zone woes continued yesterday as they only scored one offensive touchdown. That’s it! Josh McDaniels and the offensive staff need to get together this week and figure out a way to score points in the red zone. Their inability to finish drives with touchdowns will come back to haunt this team. 

3. Brady Was O.K: Tom Brady was O.K by his standards. He went 32-47 for 333 yards and a touchdown pass. Not terrible numbers by any stretch but Brady has been so good this season, you expect more. 

4. Chargers Special Teams Gaffs: You can make the case that had the Chargers taken care of the football on special teams, they could have won this game. Travis Benjamin running into the end zone after fielding a punt might be one of the dumbest plays I have ever seen. 

5. Momentum Into the Bye: The Patriots needed to win this game in order to have some momentum heading into the bye. It wasn’t pretty but they got the job done. At 6-2, this team is in pretty good shape considering the injuries they have right now.