In the postseason, the Patriots first hosted their division rivals, the New York Jets, in the . The Patriots defeated the Jets 37–16, as Brady went 22–34 for 212 yards and two touchdowns. The Patriots traveled to San Diego to take on the Chargers in the . This was Brady's first playoff game in his home state of California. Brady and the Patriots struggled against the Chargers, whom many had picked as favorites to win Super Bowl XLI. With eight minutes left in the fourth quarter and the Patriots down by eight points, Brady and the Patriots started a key drive that would ultimately decide the game. During the drive, Brady threw a fourth down interception to safety Marlon McCree, but wide receiver Troy Brown forced a fumble on McCree that wide receiver Reche Caldwell recovered to convert the first down. With a new set of downs, Brady threw a touchdown pass to Caldwell and Faulk scored the two-point conversion to tie the game. On what would be the Patriots' final drive, Brady threw a 49-yard pass play to Caldwell, setting up a Stephen Gostkowski field goal that gave New England a 24–21 lead with 1:10 remaining. The Chargers drove down the field, but Nate Kaeding missed a game-tying field goal attempt, as the Patriots held on to win.