FOXBORO - Last week, Tom Brady was close to perfect. Yesterday, he was far from it.

After throwing just two incompletions against Jacksonville -- one of which was dropped by Wes Welker, and the other of which Ben Watson could have (and arguably should have) caught -- in 28 attempts, Brady threw a season-high three interceptions yesterday afternoon against the Chargers, including one in the end zone after the Pats reached San Diego's 2-yard line.

"I don't think we executed as well as I thought we were capable," Brady said.

That's for sure.

"I thought the energy was there, the emotion was there. We just didn't perform the way I thought we were capable," Brady said.

It certainly was not a typical Brady performance.

The Tom Brady who threw an NFL-record 50 touchdown passes this season does not throw three interceptions, especially when one of them costs the Patriots a sure three points.

He was picked off in the first quarter at his own 40, by cornerback Quentin Jammer, who leaped high to bring down a pass intended for Donte' Stallworth. The Chargers turned that turnover into an early 3-0 lead, and could have had more points if the New England defense hadn't stiffened at the 8-yard line.

Brady then threw interceptions on the Patriots' first two possessions of the second half.

A short toss went off Stallworth's hands and was caught by cornerback Drayton Florence at midfield. Again, the New England defense limited the damage, stopping the Chargers on third and one at the 4, when linebacker Junior Seau shot through a gap and dropped running back Michael Turner for a 2-yard loss.

That forced San Diego to settle for a field goal, which cut New England's lead to 14-12.

The Patriots seemed on the verge of padding that advantage until, on third and goal at the San Diego 2, Brady failed to see Antonio Cromartie waiting in the end zone on a pass intended for Watson.

"They made a great play on the first one," said Brady, when asked about his interceptions. "I don't know what [Jammer's] vertical [leap] is, but he got up there on that one.

"The second one, Donte' got his hand on it, it popped up in the air, and [Florence] made a great catch. The third one, I just lost track of Cromartie."

Foremost among the reasons the Patriots haven't lost this season has been the play of Brady, who has been consistently spectacular.

For three quarters yesterday, he was average at best.

Then, in the fourth quarter, with the game on the line, he reverted to being Brady at his best.

Following his third interception, which came with 2:56 left in the third quarter, Brady was 8 of 8 the rest of the way.

He was 4 for 4 for 38 yards on a 67-yard touchdown drive that ended with his 6-yard strike to Wes Welker in the end zone with 12:15 remaining.

When Brady next got his hands on the ball, with 9:13 left, the Chargers never got it back again.

Facing a second-and-18 situation at his own 17 after being sacked for an eight-yard loss, Brady picked up the first down by tossing two straight passes to running back Kevin Faulk, who made a diving, fingertip grab on third down and then rolled forward to pick up the first down by inches at the New England 35.

Three plays later, Brady again found Faulk on third down, this time for a 14-yard gain over the middle to the San Diego 44, after which Laurence Maroney ran out the clock.

"It's nice to know you can win the close ones," Brady said. "It's nice to know you can win the ones when you have some adversity, and you've got to be mentally tough.

"I don't think we necessarily played our best. We just couldn't get drives going. But, at the same time, we made enough plays to win. I'm glad we have the week off, to regroup a little bit, and try to elevate our game for one last performance."