Chargers defense dominates struggling Patriots in low-scoring victory

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Justin Herbert threw for 212 yards and set up a pair of Cameron Dicker field goals that were all the Los Angeles Chargers needed on a cold and rainy day for their first shutout in six years, a 6-0 victory over the New England Patriots and their latest hapless quarterback, Bailey Zappe.

Keenan Allen came back from a thigh bruise to catch five passes for 58 yards. But the only scoring the Chargers (5-7) could manage was a pair of 38-yard field goals in the second quarter.

New England (2-10) made a quarterback switch, benching Mac Jones in favor of Zappe, but still lost its fifth straight game. For the first time in franchise history, the Patriots were shut out at home twice in a season.

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Justin Herbert #10 of the Los Angeles Chargers looks to throw the football during the first half against the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium on December 3, 2023 in Foxboro, Massachusetts. (Kathryn Riley/Getty Images)

It was the third time in a row that New England gave up 10 or fewer points — and lost. They are the first team to do that since the 1938 Chicago Cardinals.

Zappe was sacked five times — two by Khalil Mack, giving him a career-high 15 for the season and 99 in his career. In all, Zappe was 13 for 25 for 141 yards; he did avoid an interception for the first time in three games, the previous two in relief of Jones.

For the third straight game, the Patriots defense kept them in the game until the end. Trailing 6-0 heading into the two-minute warning, Zappe advanced New England from its 13 to near midfield before throwing three straight incompletions. One of them was a long pass that