Patriots at Chargers preview

The real Super Bowl is probably the last playoff game of the weekend, New England Patriots at San Diego Chargers. (2:30 p.m., CBS).

They’re the top two teams in the AFC, which is the top conference, and whoever wins this game should eventually win it all. I can not wait.

On one hand, you’ve got the up-and-coming Chargers, owners of a sparkling 14-2 record this year and, like so many great teams, a flawless home mark.

Their other statistics are equally impressive. The Chargers fell just shy of scoring five hundred points this season, averaging a league-best 30.8 points per game. And they didn’t do it like some Rams and Colts teams of recent vintage. They had balance. San Diego’s defense, spearheaded by the ethically-flexible Shawne Merriman, gave up only 18.4 points, seventh in the league.

Running back LaDainian Tomlinson, this year’s NFL MVP, ran for 1,815 yards and 28 touchdowns. He added just over five hundred yards and three more touchdowns through the air on his way to setting the single-season scoring record. Quarterback Philip Rivers, in his first season as a starter, threw for 3,388 yards and 22 touchdowns, with an even more impressive total of just nine interceptions. The aforementioned Merriman had 17 sacks. That’s three golden seasons, and I haven’t even mentioned standouts like Antonio Gates or Donnie Edwards. Bottom line, the Chargers are a fantastic and talented squad.

In the challenger’s corner, you have a team well-accustomed to the role, the Patriots, fresh off a 37-16 dismantling of the New York Jets.

The Patriots, winners of three of the last five Super Bowls, still have Tom Brady, the best quarterback in the world. The defense is still world-class, successful against the pass and the run and giving up just 14.8 points per contest this year, second only to Baltimore.

The Patriots’ real advantage (other than Brady) is, of course, head coach Bill Belichick, who will doubtless have some success limiting San Diego’s offensive fireworks. Chargers coach Marty Schottenheimer is as conservative as they come, which can be death in the playoffs, but he’s never had a team this good, either.

In the end, I have to go with San Diego. New England will be facing an offense that is historically good-a type of team they’ve certainly defeated before. But I’m more impressed with Tomlinson than I ever was with Peyton Manning or Kurt Warner. And San Diego is the most well-rounded team New England has faced since the Brady/Belichick ran began. And to be fair, the Patriots are pretty amazing in their own right. If you can only watch one football game this year, make it this one.