FOXBORO — Tom Brady’s warm-up routine was monitored closely over the last weeks of the regular season.

After the quarterback didn’t jog the length of the field in either Week 16 or 17 contests, it looked like Brady was still dealing with a knee injury, which happened in Tennessee in early November. On Sunday, Brady’s jog from the tunnel to the end zone made it look like everything was back to normal.

When the game [...]

FOXBORO — Tom Brady’s warm-up routine was monitored closely over the last weeks of the regular season.

After the quarterback didn’t jog the length of the field in either Week 16 or 17 contests, it looked like Brady was still dealing with a knee injury, which happened in Tennessee in early November. On Sunday, Brady’s jog from the tunnel to the end zone made it look like everything was back to normal.

When the game started, that was evident.

Following a week off, Brady was back and so was the Patriots offense. Of course, the quarterback had plenty of help in Sunday’s AFC Divisional matchup with the Los Angeles Chargers. Thanks to his trio of running backs, there was no stopping Brady or the Pats offense in Sunday’s 41-28 drubbing of the Chargers.

Next up, the Patriots will take on the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game next Sunday at 6:40 p.m. for the right to go to Super Bowl LIII in Atlanta. This marks the Patriots eighth-straight conference championship game.

Three big reasons for Sunday’s success were James White, Sony Michel and Rex Burkhead. Michel had one of the best games for a running back in Patriots playoff history, rushing for 129 yards and three touchdowns. White hauled in a franchise playoff record 15 receptions for 97 yards. Burkhead also added a touchdown.

The Chargers stood no chance thanks to the efforts of those three backs combined with a shutdown performance by the Patriots defense. Brady finished 34 of 44 for 343 yards and a touchdown. Julian Edelman also chipped in with seven receptions for 151 receiving yards.

When the Patriots won the coin toss and elected to receive, it was a minor surprise, but signaled that the team was looking to start fast and stay ahead. The mission was accomplished as New England scored on its first four drives and were up 35-7 at halftime.

On the opening series, Brady and the offense converted three third-down conversions during his 14-play, 83-yard drive. James White converted two of those plays and hauled in five receptions on the opening series. On the fourth third down, Rob Gronkowski drew a pass interference call on Chargers corner Casey Hayward in the end zone.

That set up a first-and-goal from the 1-yard line. On the next play, at 7:49 of the first quarter, Sony Michel scored on a 1-yard touchdown run.

The lead didn’t last long.

The Chargers came back and tied the game, 7-7, when Philip Rivers hit Keenan Allen for a 43-yard touchdown at 4:56 of the first. It was a defensive breakdown for the Patriots as Allen was wide open. It added insult to injury as the Pats also allowed the Chargers to convert on a third-and-15 three plays earlier in the drive when Rivers hit Mike Williams for a gain of 18.

Thanks to Michel and Julian Edelman, the Patriots were quickly back on top. On the next drive, Edelman hauled in two first-down receptions for gains of 14 and 28 yards to put the Patriots in striking distance. At 1:35 of the first, Michel scored his second touchdown of the game with a 14-yard run and the Pats led, 14-7.

Following a defensive three-and-out, the Patriots were rolling. By the second quarter, they had a 21-7 lead thanks to a dangerous Brady-led passing attack. On the team’s third scoring drive, Brady hit Edelman (11 and 17 yards) and Phillip Dorsett (11 yards) for three first downs in four plays. At 12:17 of the second, Brady went back to Dorsett, who was wide open, for a 15-yard touchdown pass.

The party inside Gillette Stadium didn’t stop there. Neither did the Patriots running backs. At 6:04 of the second quarter, Rex Burkhead ran in for a 6-yard touchdown to put the Pats up 28-7. The drive started with a 25-yard completion to White. Michel added a 40-yard run to set up a first-and-goal. Burkhead took it from there.

At 3:32 of the second, things got worse for the Chargers. Returner Desmond King muffed a Ryan Allen punt and the fumble was recovered by Albert McClellan to give Brady the ball at the New England 35-yard line. It took the Patriots four plays to find the end zone and take a 25-7 lead. At 1:43 of the second, Michel ran in for his third score of the game joining Curtis Martin and LeGarrette Blount as the only backs in Patriots history with three or more touchdowns in a playoff contest.

At halftime, the Patriots had more first downs (24) than the Chargers had offensive plays (23).

The second half was a mere formality.

Stephen Gostkowski’s 28-yard field goal gave the Pats a 38-7 lead at 6:31 of the third quarter. At 1:16 of the third quarter, the Chargers had their second touchdown of the game following Melvin Gordon's 1-yard touchdown run and the Patriots were up, 38-14.

Gostkowski’s second field goal, from 30 yards out, gave the Patriots a 41-14 lead with 12:23 left in the game. The Chargers made it 41-22 with a 1-yard Virgil Green touchdown reception with 7:42 left, and scored the game's last touchdown late in the fourth, but missed the 2-point conversion attempt.