FOXBORO - Three interceptions? From Tom Brady, football's Golden Child?

These New England Patriots can apparently survive anything. They may still win the Super Bowl in two weeks even if Glendale, Ariz., falls into a giant fissure in the earth, never to be seen again.

"I don't think we executed as well as I thought we were capable," the Patriots' quarterback said Sunday evening, "but we got the win and we were able to put together some important drives we have to try to make some corrections and move on."

The Patriots earned their berth in Super Bowl XLII with a 21-12 victory over the San Diego Chargers even though Brady was picked three times, including once as he was about to find Benjamin Watson in the back of the end zone for a coup-de-grace touchdown.

After a near-perfect, 26-for-28 passing performance against Jacksonville last Saturday, Brady completed 22 of 33 passes against the Chargers for 209 yards, with two touchdowns and the three interceptions for a decidedly pedestrian passer rating of 66.4. But the Patriots are far more than just Brady's right arm.

"I think we have really found ways to overcome adversity in the season," he said. "We've had some games come down to two-minute drives. Tonight, we just couldn't get drives going. It just felt like everything was a struggle today."

Give some credit to the Chargers, who made their bones this season on their ability to take the ball away from the opposition. And it's not unfair to lay some blame on the breaks of the game.

Brady's first interception came with 5:13 left in the opening quarter, when he found Quentin Jammer instead of Donté Stallworth on a deep pattern down the right sideline. The pick gave San Diego the ball at the Patriots' 40, and, seven plays later, a 3-0 lead on Nate Kaeding's 26-yard field goal.

Brady was again victimized on a throw to Stallworth over the middle on the first possession of the second half. The off-target throw bounced up in the air off Stallworth's hand and fell fortuitously into the hands of Drayton Florence at the Patriots' 49. That, too, turned into a Kaeding field goal to draw the Chargers within two points.

"They made a great play on the first one, kind of got in-between what I wanted to do," Brady said. "The second one, I was just trying to get the ball to Donté and he got his hand on it, it popped up in the air and the guy made a great catch."

What could have been a killer was Brady's third interception. The Patriots had driven from their own 33 to the Chargers' 2, but with 3:05 left, Brady fuzzed out for a split-second while trying to go over the middle to Benjamin Watson in the back of the end zone.

Three yards deep and right in the throw's path was Antonio Cromartie, whose gleeful grab stopped the potential scoring drive in its tracks.

"I just lost track of Cromartie," Brady said. "That's what they do, they make you pay. It's a difficult defense to play against, and they challenge you in a lot of ways."

But after Brady added to the lead with a 6-yard touchdown pass to Wes Welker with 12:15 left to play, the Patriots' offense shifted into a mode more akin to their past Super Bowl season than their present one. They ran the ball.

Laurence Maroney carried eight times for 32 yards on the final possession, grinding out key yards in the fashion of Antowain Smith or Corey Dillon. Add two huge third-down catches by Kevin Faulk out of the backfield, and the Patriots were heading for Super Bowl XLII.

"Whenever we need them, everybody steps up," center Dan Koppen said. "We have a lot of guys on this offense that can make plays. Laurence and Kevin, they've been doing it when we asked them to all year, and tonight was no different."

Maroney finished with 122 yards on 25 carries, his second straight 100-plus performance of the playoffs. Faulk was the Patriots' leading receiver with eight catches for 82 yards.

"Those are two guys that work hard," tackle Matt Light said. "They do everything they can to prepare themselves to go out there and play a great game, and they showed up in a big way today."