SAN DIEGO CHARGERS (8-4) vs. NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS (9-3) Sunday, December 7, 2014 — 5:30 p.m. PT Qualcomm Stadium (70,000) — San Diego, California 2014 SCHEDULE For Immediate Release www.Chargers.com REGULAR SEASON Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2014 www.twitter.com/chargers Mon. Sept. 8 at Arizona Univ. of Phoenix Stadium L, 17-18 (858) 874-4500 www.facebook.com/chargers Sun. Sept. 14 SEATTLE Qualcomm Stadium W, 30-21 Sun. Sept. 21 at Buffalo Ralph Wilson Stadium W, 22-10 Two teams in the thick of the AFC Playoff race will meet in prime-time Sun. Sept. 28 JACKSONVILLE Qualcomm Stadium W, 33-14 when the 8-4 San Diego Chargers host the 9-3 New England Patriots on Sun. Oct. 5 N.Y. JETS Qualcomm Stadium W, 31-0 NBC’s Sunday Night Football at Qualcomm Stadium on Sun- Sun. Oct. 12 at Oakland O.co Coliseum W, 31-28 day night, Dec. 7. Kickoff is 5:30 p.m. PT. Sun. Oct. 19 KANSAS CITY Qualcomm Stadium L, 20-23 The Chargers come into Sunday night’s game riding a three- Thurs. Oct. 23 at Denver Sports Authority Field L, 21-35 game winning streak, which includes a 34-33 win over the Sun. Nov. 2 at Miami Sun Life Stadium L, 0-37 Baltimore Ravens in the Charm City last Sunday. The Char- Sun. Nov. 9 BYE gers have been streaky this season. The team won five in a row early in the Sun. Nov. 16 OAKLAND Qualcomm Stadium W, 13-6 season and then lost three in a row before bouncing back. The Patriots also Sun. Nov. 23 ST. LOUIS Qualcomm Stadium W, 27-24 went on a long winning streak this season, reeling off seven in a row before Sun. Nov. 30 at Baltimore M&T Bank Stadium W, 34-33 falling to the Packers in Green Bay on Sunday night. Sun. Dec. 7 NEW ENGLAND Qualcomm Stadium 5:30 p.m. NBC The Chargers are in second place in the AFC West, a game behind division- Sun. Dec. 14 DENVER Qualcomm Stadium 1:05 p.m. CBS leading Denver. The Patriots lead the AFC East by two games over Buffalo. Sat. Dec. 20 at San Francisco Levi’s Stadium 5:25 p.m. CBS Sun. Dec. 28 at Kansas City Arrowhead Stadium *10:00 a.m. CBS Sunday Night Football will be making its fi rst visit to San Diego since 2011. NBC Sports will televise the game live to a nationwide audience (locally on *Denotes fl ex scheduling and games subject to time change. Ch. 7/39 in San Diego and Ch. 4 in Los Angeles and Orange County) with Al All times Pacifi c. Home games in BOLD. Home games will be subject to local Michaels handling the play-by-play, Cris Collinsworth providing color com- blackout rules and will be shown locally if they are sold out 72 hours prior to mentary and Michele Tafoya reporting from the field. kickoff. Dates and times are subject to change. DECEMBERS TO REMEMBER TELEVISION AND RADIO COVERAGE The Chargers will embark on the final month of the regular season when they face the Patriots on Sunday night. Since taking over as the Chargers’ NBC Sports (Ch. 7/39 in San Diego and Ch. 4 in Los starting quarterback in 2006, Philip Rivers has guided the Chargers to re- Angeles and Orange County) — Al Michaels (play-by- cord of 33-6 (.846 winning percentage) in regular-season games played in play), Cris Collinsworth (analyst) and Michele Tafoya December and January. It’s no coincidence that all-time, he’s the NFL’s third (reporter). highest-rated passer in December/January (99.0) with a 71-to-22 touch- Spanish Radio — XHFG 107.3 (San Diego) and KWKW down-to-interception ratio. 1330 AM (Los Angeles) — Jorge Villanueva (play-by- Rivers is not only great in December, but in the second half of the season play) and Dante Lazcano (analyst) — The Spanish Radio Network includes as well. Throughout his career, he’s 53-22 as a starter in games played af- XHSOL 89.9 FM in Mexicali, Mexico and XEHC 1590 AM in Ensenada. ter Nov. 1, including 3-1 this season. Rivers has led the Chargers to three straight wins while completing a league-best 74.6 percent of his passes in Rock 105.3 FM, XTRA Sports 1360 AM (San Diego) wins over Oakland, St. Louis and Baltimore. and AM 1150 (Los Angeles & Orange County) — Josh Rivers’ 96.7 career passer rating in Games 9-16 of the regular season ranks Lewin (play-by-play), Hank Bauer (analyst) and Mike fourth all-time in NFL history. Costa (reporter) — The Chargers Radio Network also includes AM 1150 KEIB in Los Angeles and Orange County; KATY 101.3 FM in Temecula and the DECADE OF EXCELLENCE Inland Empire; KNWH 1250 AM in the Yucca Valley; KNWZ 94.3 FM in Palm Over the last decade, the Chargers have been one of the NFL’s winningest Springs; KAVL 610 AM in Palmdale and Lancaster; KSPA 1510 AM in Ontario, franchises. Since 2004, the Chargers rank fourth in wins in the regular season the Inland Empire and Rancho Cucamonga; KRAK 910 AM in Victorville and (108), and the Bolts are tied with Green Bay for the fourth-most wins in the Hesperia; ESPN Radio 1100 AM in Las Vegas, and KXO 107.5 FM in the Im- regular season and postseason combined (112). perial Valley and Yuma, Arizona and Sirius Satellite Radio. Additionally, the Chargers’ five division titles since the NFL realigned in Westwood One Radio (national) — Kevin Kugler (play-by-play), 2002 are tied for sixth, while the team’s six playoff berths tie for eighth. James Lofton (analyst) and Scott Kaplan (reporter). SERIES HISTORY Chargers.com — All Chargers radio broadcasts are streamed live Two original members of the American Football League, the Chargers and on www.chargers.com. Broadcasts will begin two hours before Patriots have a series history that dates back to 1960. New England leads kickoff and continue for 90 minutes after the game ends. the series, 22-15-2. The Patriots have had the upper hand of late, winning PRACTICE & MEDIA SCHEDULE two straight and five of the last eight. Wed. Dec. 3 Practice 11:15-12:45 p.m. FAMILIAR FACES Conference Calls (**Bill Belichick 9 a.m. PT** / Patriots Player 12 p.m. PT) Chargers Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach Rick Lyle played on **For Bill Belichick, dial 712-432-3100 and enter conf. code 713834** the Patriots’ defensive line from 2002-03, winning a Super Bowl with New Thur. Dec. 4 Practice 11:15-12:45 p.m. England following the ‘03 season. Fri. Dec. 5 Practice 10:35-11:30 a.m. Patriots with ties to Southern California include Akeem Ayers (Los Angeles The first 20-30 minutes (stretching and individual drills) are open to the and UCLA), Brandon Browner (Sylmar), Patrick Chung (Rancho Cucamonga), media. The locker room is open after practice for 45 minutes. Head Coach Matthew Slater (Anaheim and UCLA), Shane Vereen (Valencia) and Ryan Mike McCoy will meet with the media each day immediately after practice. Wendell (Pomona). NOTEWORTHY VS. THE PATRIOTS • In Weeks 2-6, Rivers posted a passer rating above 120.0 in an NFL- • Philip Rivers had one of the gutsiest performances of his career against record five straight games (124.2 vs. Seattle, 131.4 at Buffalo, 130.0 New England in the 2007 AFC Championship Game, six days after having vs. Jacksonville, 125.3 vs. the New York Jets and 123.8 at Oakland). The surgery to repair a torn ACL. previous NFL record (four games) was shared by Johnny Unitas (1965) • During a 2011 contest against the Patriots, Rivers eclipsed 20,000 pass- and Kurt Warner (2009). ing yards for his career. In 2008, Rivers was named FedEx Air NFL Play- • Rivers has posted a passer rating of 120 or higher 38 times and the er of the Week after recording the first 300-yard game of his career Chargers are 35-3 (.921) in those games. He’s posted a passer rating against New England. of 130.0 or higher 21 times and the Chargers are 21-0 in those games. • In 2008, Malcom Floyd had a season-long 49-yard touchdown catch in • Rivers’ completion percentage, touchdown and interception totals have an NBC Sunday Night Football game against the Patriots. significantly improved since the start of the 2013 season and the arrival • Ryan Mathews had a career-high seven catches against the Patriots in of Mike McCoy. Among quarterbacks who have played in every game 2011. since the start of the 2013 season, Rivers’ completion percentage (69.3) • Playing for Denver in 2009, Eddie Royal had a 10-catch game against is second, just 0.1 percentage points behind New Orleans’ Drew Brees. the Patriots and during the game he joined two others as the third- In that same span, Rivers’ 57 touchdown passes are tied for third and his fastest players in NFL history to catch 100 career passes. 21 interceptions are sixth-fewest. • Playing for Washington in 2011, tackle Willie Smith made his NFL de- • All-time, Rivers is 36-16 as a starter in regular-season AFC West games. but against New England. In those 52 games, he’s completed 1,016 of 1,599 (63.5 pct.) for 12,696 • Playing for Miami in 2008, Ronnie Brown was named AFC Offensive yards with 85 touchdowns and 45 interceptions for a 94.1 rating.