The New England Patriots and San Diego Chargers participated in last season's AFC Championship Game, but neither has resembled the team that competed for the conference's ultimate prize nine months ago.

The Chargers will attempt to avenge last January's playoff loss to the Patriots this Sunday at Qualcomm Stadium, in what has turned out to be a critical game for the reigning AFC West champs.

San Diego has stumbled to a 2-3 record out of the gate, and jeopardized its status as one of the AFC's prime contenders with its slow start. Injuries to star players on both sides of the ball have played a role in the Chargers' sluggish beginning, as a once-mighty defense has clearly suffered without the intimidating presence of linebacker Shawne Merriman, and a nagging turf toe ailment to superstar running back LaDainian Tomlinson has stymied the offense.

Tomlinson hasn't missed a game, but it's apparent that the hobbled former NFL MVP isn't playing at the level that made him one of the league's premier offensive players over the past few seasons. The perennial All-Pro is averaging a pedestrian 3.7 yards per carry so far this year, and was limited to 35 yards on 12 attempts by a hungry Miami defense in last Sunday's 17-10 upset loss to the Dolphins.

Merriman's season-ending knee injury has taken its toll on a San Diego defense that ranks dead last in the NFL in passing yards allowed and 28th in total yards allowed.

The Patriots aren't likely to feel any sympathy for the Chargers' injury plight, since last year's AFC Super Bowl representatives are still trying to adjust to life without Tom Brady under center. New England's season took a sudden drastic turn when the 2007 league MVP tore two ligaments in his left knee in the team's Week 1 victory over Kansas City.

New England hasn't gone in the tank since losing its valued field general, however. The Pats have won two of three games with replacement Matt Cassel taking snaps, and trail the surprising Buffalo Bills by just one-half game for first place in the AFC East.

Cassel is coming off a career-high 259-yard performance in last week's 30-21 road triumph over San Francisco, while New England's seasoned defense held the 49ers to 199 total yards to help the club record its 12th straight regular- season road win.

San Diego is presently two games behind 4-1 Denver for the top spot in the AFC West.

SERIES HISTORY

New England has a 18-13-2 lead in its all-time regular season series against San Diego, including its 38-14 Sunday night shellacking of the Bolts at Gillette Stadium in Week 2 of last season. The Chargers handed the Patriots a lopsided 41-17 defeat in New England in the previous matchup, during Week 4 of the 2005 campaign. The Patriots last won a regular season game in San Diego in 1996, when they prevailed, 45-7.

The Patriots and Chargers have met three times in the postseason, including New England's 21-12 home victory in the 2007 AFC Championship. New England also scored a 24-21 upset of top-seeded San Diego at Qualcomm Stadium in a 2006 AFC Divisional Playoff. The only other playoff meeting between the clubs occurred in 1963, when San Diego scored a 51-10 blowout of the then-Boston Patriots in the AFL Championship.

New England head coach Bill Belichick is 5-4 in his career against San Diego, including a 1-2 record while with the Browns from 1991 through 1995. The Chargers' Norv Turner is 1-3 in his career against New England, including a road win for his Washington team in 1996 and a loss for his Raiders to open the 2005 campaign. Turner is 0-3 head-to-head against Belichick all-time.

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