FOXBORO — Before the glow from claiming their fourth American Football Conference title in seven years could even begin to dim, the Patriots were facing criticism from yet another San Diego player.

This time it was Chargers center Nick Hardwick, who was directing his ire at New England defensive lineman Richard Seymour. Hardwick called the five-time Pro Bowl selection a “dirty, cheap little pompous (expletive),” and accused him of being unnecessarily violent on the field.

“He’s cheap and dirty and the head man just let him get away with it the whole time,” Hardwick said. “They’ve got 10 great players on that team and when Jarvis Green comes on the field, they’ve got 11 great players who compete how you’re supposed to play. But Richard Seymour is the biggest (expletive) I’ve ever played.”

Hardwick said Seymour was stomping players’ feet after a field goal, slapping heads, punching players in the back and generally being a “punk.”

New England coach Bill Belichick defended Seymour yesterday.

“I’m surprised. That’s the last thing I would say about Richard,” Belichick said.

In the moments before kickoff on Sunday, Seymour was seen exchanging heated words with San Diego left tackle Marcus McNeill, and he received a five-yard running-into-the-kicker penalty after Mike Scifres’ first punt. He also knocked down Philip Rivers at the end of one play but was not flagged.

However, this may be a case of the pot calling the kettle black. After the Chargers’ December game in Tennessee, Hardwick was quoted as saying, “We’re just as dirty if not dirtier than anyone else in the league, so we like that.”

Milestone for Brady

Sunday’s win was the 100th of Tom Brady’s career. Including regular-season and playoff games, his record is 100-26 (.794). He is 86-24 (.782) in the regular season.

Brady’s 14-2 (.875) postseason record is second all-time to Green Bay’s Bart Starr, who was 9-1 with the Packers.

smanza@projo.com