Pats beat Chargers, reach 10 wins

SAN DIEGO – Tom Brady jogged off the field, pumping his right fist toward the throng of New England fans in a corner of Qualcomm Stadium.

A week in San Diego turned out quite well for the California native and the rest of the Patriots.

Brady threw a 69-yard touchdown pass to Julian Edelman midway through the fourth quarter, and New England beat the San Diego Chargers 23-14 for its eighth win in nine games.

The Patriots (10-3) clinched their 12th straight 10-win season for the second-longest such streak in NFL history. They spent the week in San Diego following a loss at Green Bay in order to cut down on late-season travel.

New England went ahead 16-14 on Stephen Gostkowski’s 38-yard field goal with 10:34 left.

After forcing the Chargers (8-5) to punt, the Patriots started on their 31. Brady faked a handoff and hit Edelman on a slant at about the 45. He broke two tackles and was gone.

“Jules made a great play. I fired it to him, he made a great catch and run,” Brady said. “We needed that play. We were struggling. We needed a great play.”

Brady completed 28 of 44 passes for 317 yards and two touchdowns with one interception. Edelman caught eight passes for 141 yards.