(Sports Network) - In photographs taken Monday, Tom Brady appears to be wearing a walking cast on his right foot. In a video posted on TMZ.com, Brady can be seen limping to the door of girlfriend Gisele Bundchen's New York City townhouse.

Maybe the Patriots won't need him.

They didn't need much from him Sunday, by Tom Brady standards at least, in a 21-12 victory of the San Diego Chargers that sent the Patriots to their fourth Super Bowl in seven years, where they will face the New York Giants.

Brady, who said in a radio appearance Monday that he'd "have to be on a stretcher" to miss the Super Bowl, threw three interceptions in the AFC Championship game, including one in the San Diego end zone with the Patriots clinging to a 14-12 lead.

But as it did all game when it mattered, the New England defense came up with a stop on the ensuing possession, and Brady then connected with Wes Welker for a touchdown that made it 21-12, the final score.

The Chargers scored just six points off the Brady interceptions. The New England defense, porous when spread over a long field Sunday, really locked down on the short field.

San Diego made four trips inside the New England 25-yard line, coming away with a field goal each time.

"You talk about time after time how offense puts people in the seats, but defense wins championships" said Patriots cornerback Ellis Hobbs, who had an interception. "Tonight you saw that how time and time again those guys got into the red zone, and time and time again we kept saying no, not today.

"We were making them score field goals. Eventually the offense started clicking and we just got rolling."

Brady passed for 209 yards and a pair of touchdowns, but it was the Patriots backfield -- again -- that kept them moving. Laurence Maroney carried 25 times for 125 yards and a touchdown, while backup Kevin Faulk was the team's leading receiver with eight catches for 82 yards.

Of course, New England didn't have to deal with LaDainian Tomlinson for more than three touches at the beginning of the game. The Chargers' biggest weapon was sidelined after aggravating a knee injury on his first carry of the game.

In the third quarter, Patriots linebacker Junior Seau busted through the line to tackle Michael Turner on a 3rd-and-1 play from the New England 4-yard line. The stop led to another San Diego field goal.

Think the Chargers would have liked Tomlinson in that situation?

Which is not to say the Patriots won simply because things went their way. Really, what they showed us again is that they can win in a lot of different ways. While their passing offense won games in the regular season, it has been their defense and ground attack that has guided them through the playoffs.

The game may not have been perfect, but the Patriots (18-0) still are.

NOTES

- With a mix of Maroney carries and short passes, the Patriots drained the last 9:13 from the clock on their final possession, moving from their own 13- yard line to the San Diego 21.

- The Patriots will appear in their seventh Super Bowl in franchise history.

- New England became the first team to reach the Super Bowl four times in the same decade since Buffalo made four consecutive trips from 1990 through 1993

- Maroney posted the first back-to-back 100-yard rushing games in the postseason for the Patriots 22 years.

- Brady has been intercepted three times in the same playoff game only twice, both times against the Chargers.

- Randy Moss had only one catch for the second consecutive game.

THE SUPER BOWL

New England squeezed out a 38-35 victory at Giants Stadium in the last week of the season to complete its perfect regular season.

Both teams played their starters to the end despite already being locked into postseason positions -- the Giants, of course, making the decision themselves in an admirable move that produced one of the best NFL games of the season.

New York seemed an unlikely Super Bowl team then, even with its spirited finish. But, here we are...

01/22 14:52:21 ET