Patriots vs. Chargers: 3 things you need to know

The pistol-hot San Diego Chargers, in the midst of a three-game winning streak, face one of their stiffest tests of the season on Sunday as they play host to the 9-3 New England Patriots.

The Patriots, who have owned the head-to-head matchup between the two teams over the past decade, had a seven-game winning streak snapped last week against the Green Bay Packers.

Here are three things you need to know:

Philip Rivers excels in December

Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers finds himself on Santa's nice list frequently in December, posting a 30-6 all-time record during the final month of the season.

Though that stat is rather impressive, Rivers isn't taking credit for the team's Yuletide success during his nine-year tenure as the Chargers starting signal-caller.

“The quarterback and the head coach get a record attached to them, but that’s our record in December and that’s the Chargers' record in December over the last (several) years,” Rivers told ESPN's Eric D. Williams. “I just think that it shows a lot about what I’ve always said, which is about the character of our team, the toughness of our team, and we’ve finished strong in years where we were 13-3 or 11-5 those years."

Rivers hasn't faced the Patriots since September 2011, when he completed 29-of-40 passes for 378 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions in a 35-21 loss.

Brady is also ridiculous in December

Although Philip Rivers performs Rudolph-level magic during December, future Hall-of-Fame pivot Tom Brady ups his game to Santa Claus status when the calendar hits the 12th month.

Brady is 45-7 in December, good for first place for quarterbacks with at least 20 starts in the month. He's also 5-0 all-time against Philip Rivers, torching the Chargers for 423 yards and three touchdowns during their aforementioned meeting in 2011.

Rivers, for his part, isn't intimidated by Brady's career success against the Chargers.

''We've never played this Patriot team," Rivers told the Associated Press. "We're 0-0 against this group. There's a lot of guys in that locker room that have never played the Patriots in their life. You can't really say this team is 1-5 against them.''

Patriots rarely drop two in a row

Despite their success of late, history (as much as it doesn't necessarily matter) isn't on the Chargers side.

The Patriots, coming off a loss to the Packers, rarely ever lose consecutive games, posting a 36-4 record since 2003 in regular season games following defeat.

So although this isn't the most compelling statistic since each game should be treated individually, the Patriots will be fired up and they're certainly not in the habit of falling into a losing streak.