Videogate gave them that.
"I saw what some of the other players [around the league] said. You had all these doubts and all these hypotheticals," said an emotional Tedy Bruschi after the game. "I got a hypothetical for you. Let's get all the players that played with us and bring them back and let's get all the players that you had on those teams and let's play again. We would win again. Period."
If they played like they did last night, Bruschi made an understatement.
New England took all the suspense out of the teams' rematch from January's AFC Divisional playoff game, turning the lights out on the Chargers early with a 24-0 first-half barrage.
Belichick, who received a game ball from Patriots owner Robert Kraft, could have just taken it at the half because the game was over. An emotional Belichick praised his players and the fans.
"Our players had a real good week of preparation and at times it was challenging, but they stayed focused," said Belichick. "They played well and they played hard tonight. I give them all the credit in the world. They made a lot of plays out there tonight.
"I want to thank the fans for their awesome support. From the time we walked out on the field they showed up tonight. They gave us some energy and we appreciate that. We have great fans and we have a great owner who has been awesome all week. At times it was a tough situation. I'm glad it worked out well for everybody."
Everybody but the Chargers.
San Diego could have used semaphore to signal in its plays and it wouldn't have mattered. The Patriots outgained the Chargers, 222-93, in the first half and 407-201 overall.
Brady, who finished 25 of 31 for 279 yards and three touchdowns, marched the Patriots down the field on the opening kickoff in seven plays - all passes - the last of which was a 7-yard touchdown toss to tight end Benjamin Watson.
Moss, who had another big game (eight catches for 105 yards and two touchdowns), made it 14-0 with 3:55 left in the first quarter on a 23-yard reception.
Stephen Gostkowski, who had missed a 41-yard field goal, connected on a 24-yarder to extend the New England lead to 17-0 with 10:01 left in the half.
