New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady passes against the Los Angeles Chargers during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Oct. 29, 2017, in Foxborough, Mass. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady passes against the Los Angeles Chargers during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Oct. 29, 2017, in Foxborough, Mass. (AP Photo/Steven Senne) Credit: Steven Senne

Foxborough, Mass. — The defending Super Bowl champion New England Patriots have lost Tom Brady’s go-to receiver and their defensive leader to season-ending injuries.

Yet, as they entered the halfway point of their season following a defense-led 21-13 win over the Chargers on Sunday, they are showing the resolve of a team that’s capable of making another run at the Lombardi Trophy.

After losing two of its first four games, New England has won four straight. It has been buoyed during that stretch mostly by a defense that will have to finish the season without captain Dont’a Hightower, who suffered a torn pectoral muscle in his shoulder in last week’s win over Atlanta. That came after receiver Julian Edelman was lost in the preseason to a knee injury.

The defense is also making things work without cornerback Stephon Gilmore, an offseason pickup who has missed the past four games with concussion and ankle issues.

The Patriots (6-2) have given up just 51 points over their past four wins after allowing three of their first four opponents to score 30 or more.

“I think we’re playing well with each other,” linebacker Kyle Van Noy said. “We have a lot of new guys and a lot of young guys. It takes time to jell and that’s kind of what happened is we’re just trying to jell and get to know each other.”

While the defense is figuring things out, the offense has regressed in recent weeks. It had just one touchdown on Sunday and is averaging just 22 points over its past four games. That is down from 32 points per game over its first four games.

“We’re not scoring as many points as we’re capable of scoring, I know that,” quarterback Tom Brady said. “I wish there was a simple answer to it, and the simple word would be execution. … I wish it would be better, but we’re not. But we’ll just keep after it.”

Brady was 32 for 47 for 333 yards and a touchdown. He has 44 games with at least 300 passing yards and no interceptions. That is tied with New Orleans’ Drew Brees for the most such games with a single team in NFL history.

Despite a pair of home losses, the Patriots are again one of the NFL’s best teams as they reach the halfway point of the regular season.

New England is an NFL-best 97-38 in the first half of the season since coach Bill Belichick’s arrival in 2000.

The Patriots are off to a 6-2 start or better for the 16th time in team history and for the fifth straight season. They’ve won at least six games in the first half 11 times under Belichick.