SAN DIEGO -- The Patriots chose not to pay Asante Samuel, the all-pro cornerback who led the team in interceptions the last three years.

Now they're paying the price for allowing Samuel -- who had six picks last year after leading the league in 2006 with 10 -- to sign as a free agent with Philadelphia.

Under the salary cap, NFL teams can't afford to pay high salaries to everyone. It's not like major-league baseball, where teams can spend as much as they like on players. And, at least in major markets, usually do.

The Eagles signed Samuel to a six-year, free-agent contract worth more than $55 million, of which $20 million is guaranteed.

Guaranteed, Patriots owner Robert Kraft would think that's a bargain now, if only the Pats could have retained Samuel and still remained under the cap.

There's no question that the Pats miss him. Not as much as they miss injured quarterback Tom Brady, mind you. But quite a bit -- as was obvious Sunday night in San Diego, when Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers repeatedly burned New England's overmatched secondary with deep passes.

Rivers went after the Patriots' defensive backs -- corner Deltha O'Neal, in particular -- from the opening play, when he lofted a 48-yard completion to Vincent Jackson that led to a field goal. On the Chargers' next possession, Rivers again went deep -- and again went at O'Neal -- this time for a 49-yard TD to Malcom Floyd, who is listed as third on San Diego's depth chart at wide receiver, behind Chris Chambers and Buster Davis.

Jackson caught another long pass in the second half, hauling in a 59-yarder as the Chargers went from the shadow of their own goal line into the New England end zone in just five plays, the last a 1-yard TD toss from Rivers to wide-open tight end Antonio Gates.

"The big play kills you in the National Football League," said Rodney Harrison, the Pats' veteran strong safety, and a former Charger.

Bulletin: It also kills you in college, and in high school, and in Pop Warner league too.

"You can disguise coverages all you want," Harrison said in a quiet New England locker room, "but it comes down to one man making plays against another man."

For the second time in three games, it was the opposing offense making more plays than the New England defense.

Three weeks after an embarrassing, 38-13 rout at the hands of the Dolphins -- losers of 20 of their previous 21 games -- in Gillette Stadium, the Pats were trounced again, 30-10, by a San Diego team that was 2-3 and coming off a 17-10 loss last week in Miami.

Everyone knew the Patriots would miss NFL MVP Brady, who threw for a league-record 50 touchdowns last season as the Pats racked up a league-record 589 points.

What's becoming equally obvious is how much the New England defense misses Samuel, a shutdown cover corner who could keep the league's best receivers in check.

"We lost the best player in the NFL in Tom Brady," Harrison said. "But we can't get caught up in that.

"We're not going to score 38 points a game. We're not going to get 25 points in the first half. We're not that type of team now. We're going to have get back to scrapping and fighting for every single thing we get."

The Pats were pushed around by the Chargers, who lost to New England in the AFC Championship Game last season in Foxboro, 21-12.

"Asante's not here," Harrison continued. "We're going to have to play with the guys we have."

In Samuel's place at the left corner, the Pats have O'Neal, who was waived by the winless Cincinnati Bengals.

Also seeing action in the New England secondary are the likes of Lewis Sanders, an oft-injured cornerback now with his fifth NFL team; rookie Terrence Wheatley -- the Pats' second-round draft choice; and Brandon Meriweather, last year's first-round pick.

"We're not the Patriots of last year," Harrison said. "We have to find different ways of winning."