And so we are given a rematch of a game that was so significant it aired on three networks – and ironically, said rematch will air on the one over-the-air broadcast partner frozen out of that televised trifecta of Dec. 29. If Fox wants to share the air, maybe the Dumont network could be revived for such a purpose.

NEW ENGLAND 21, SAN DIEGO 12

Perhaps it’s appropriate that the Patriots sealed their fourth Super Bowl trip of the decade and sixth in the last 22 years with a final score that was a palindrome. After all, any way one disseminates the unbeaten New England side – forwards, backwards, sideways, upside down – the conclusion is the same, one of greatness that until this year seemed unattainable.

But this game might have been their most unsightly to date, punctuated by three Tom Brady interceptions that all-but gift-wrapped the game to the visiting Chargers, who proceeded to return the gift by marching to four Nate Kaeding field goals and nothing more.

SAN DIEGO (13-5) AT NEW ENGLAND (17-0)

WHEN: Sunday, 1 p.m. MST
WHERE: Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Mass.
TV: CBS

Philip Rivers is resolute and defiant. Those two characteristics have made him seem a tad possessed in recent weeks — particularly in his rapport with Colts fans last Sunday at the RCA Dome — but are often to his credit, and in a different manifestation helped him become the No. 4 overall pick in the draft after a fairly phenomenal matriculation at North Carolina State.

But with the San Diego Union-Tribune reporting that he suffered a partial tear of his right anterior cruciate ligament, one wonders if his defiance might get the better of him.

What is more significant than Rivers’ official “doubtful” status is the fact that he was limited in practice. It’s tough enough to go against the Patriots with a full week of preparatory work. Can one really expect to be ready when that work is truncated?

San Diego’s best bet might be to go with Billy Volek, who led them to the game-winning score in the fourth quarter last week and played with a crispness that kept the Chargers’ offense at its typically productive pace in spite of the absences of LaDainian Tomlinson and Antonio Gates.