New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady has hailed his side's defense for guiding them to victory over the San Diego Chargers in their crucial AFC matchup.

Brady's offense struggled against the AFC West team as they committed turnovers and failed to capitalise on scoring chances on the goalline, but Bill Belichick's defense kept the game close in the fourth quarter.

The Patriots managed to take the lead late in the game when Brady drilled a pass to Julian Edelman for a 69-yard touchdown, while the Chargers failed to respond to allow the visitors to earn the win.

He told reporters: "They were phenomenal. They did a great job. That was a key to the whole game, the way the defense played.

"We found a little spot to throw it, and Jules made a great catch and run. We needed that type of play at that point in the game and the defense took over from there."

The Patriots are now 10-3 in their season and hold the number one seed in the AFC, with three games remaining in the campaign.