The Patriots defense has made a number of big plays in the red zone against San Diego Sunday, but they may need the offense to bail them out in the fourth quarter.
Vincent Jackson scored a touchdown to close the score to 20-14 early in the fourth quarter. The Patriots are without safety Patrick Chung, cornerback Ras-I Dowling, and punter Zoltan Mesko.
The Patriots went for a fourth down at midfield soon thereafter, partly because Mesko is out of the game.
UPDATE: Patriots cornerback Kyle Arrington also left late in the game.