Usual burst not there for L.T.

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- LaDainian Tomlinson spent most of the game bundled up in a parka on the sideline on a freezing, windy day, his injured left knee unable to provide the moves that make him one of the NFL's most exciting players.

The pain Philip Rivers felt from his sprained right knee was matched by the 2 interceptions he threw.

Combine the two, and that was not going to get the job done against the undefeated New England Patriots.

The aching San Diego Chargers did what most people thought they would do in the AFC championship game. They lost, 21-12, as the Patriots improved to 18-0 and advanced to their fourth Super Bowl in seven seasons.

"It's unfortunate we didn't come through today," Rivers said. "It's probably a lot closer than everybody expected. Not necessarily us -- we expected to win."

To have a legitimate chance at a huge upset, Norv Turner's team needed to have all its star players healthy.

It didn't.

A week after spraining his left knee in an upset win at Indianapolis, Tomlinson re-injured it on the game's first play from scrimmage. He carried again on the next play, then didn't touch the ball again until catching a short screen pass from Rivers on the next drive.

L.T. didn't have his usual burst and he knew he was finished.

"Sometimes your body tells you it ain't going to happen," Tomlinson said. "So you've got to listen to your body. Obviously I wanted to play, but if I did try to play I would be hurting my team because I didn't have any explosiveness, and I wouldn't have been myself.

"It's just been two bad weeks for me," he added. "I usually don't take shots like that. It just happened today."

Tomlinson's knee injury originally was described as a hyperextension. He said Sunday that he has a sprained medial collateral ligament.

"It's obvious that I couldn't play," Tomlinson said. "If I could have played, I would have been in there."

Tomlinson said he felt "helpless" as he watched the Chargers settle for four field goals by Nate Kaeding.

"I'm kind of at a loss for words," Tomlinson said.

In relief of Tomlinson, Michael Turner ran for 65 yards on 17 carries and Darren Sproles had 34 yards on 3 carries.