Patriots Eliminate Chargers In 16-3 Finish to Advance to AFC Divisional Round
It wasn’t the most exciting of finishes that NFL fans were accustomed to all Wild Card weekend, but the New England Patriots did just enough on offense in their win over the Los Angeles Chargers to win their first playoff game in eight years.
Patriots Defense Dominates, Drake Maye Shows Dual Threat
Despite a less-than-stellar start to the game, Patriots star QB and MVP contender Drake Maye took over in the second half to seal the win for the Patriots. The former Tar Heel threw for 268 yards and a touchdown, while also leading the Patriots in rushing with 66 yards in the win.
The Chargers’ elite defense gave the Patriots offense problems in the first half of the game, with New England finishing with a hard-earned 171 yards through the first two quarters. The Patriots would eventually find their rhythm as they finished with 381 total yards for the game, with over 100 of those yards coming in the 4th quarter.
While Maye was doing it all for New England on offense, the defense thoroughly locked up the Chargers’ offense time and time again. The Patriots’ pass rush was relentless from start to finish as they recorded six sacks against the Chargers’ depleted front line.
The Patriots also showed significant improvement in their overall red zone defense tonight, as they held the Chargers to 0-for-2 in their red zone trips in the game. Coming into the game, New England ranked 16th in red zone defense during the regular season.
Key Injuries Finally Catch Up to the Chargers in Lackluster Offensive Showing
Well, it had been a miraculous run for the Chargers despite injuries to key offensive linemen in Joe Alt and Rashawn Slater, but the luck officially ran out on Los Angeles tonight. It was a solo act by Chargers star QB Justin Herbert on offense, as Los Angeles could not give their franchise QB enough help in the loss.
That lack of help was very much evident in the run game, as Herbert yet again ended up being the leading rusher for the Chargers with 57 yards on the ground. The second leading rusher for Los Angeles was backup running back Kimani Vidal, who only managed 31 yards on 11 carries for the Chargers.
The Chargers’ receiving corps also looked overmatched in the loss, as no player finished with more than 30 yards for the game. Chargers second-year receiver Ladd McConkey was the leading receiver for Los Angeles, as he finished with just three catches for 32 yards in the loss.
The loss tonight now officially puts Justin Herbert’s playoff record at 0-3 for his career, a record that is sure to make Chargers fans sick to their stomachs. This loss will also extend the Chargers’ franchise playoff win drought, as Los Angeles last won a playoff game versus a rookie Lamar Jackson-led Baltimore Ravens team back in 2018.
Patriots Look Ahead at Potential Divisional Opponents
With one Wild Card game remaining between the Houston Texans and the Pittsburgh Steelers set to kick off on Monday night, the Patriots will have to wait a little while longer to find out who their next playoff opponent will be.
If the Steelers are able to pull off the upset win against the Houston Texans tomorrow night, the Patriots will face off against their AFC East rival, the Buffalo Bills, next Sunday. However, if the higher-seeded Texans win against the Steelers, then the Patriots and Texans will square off for a right to advance to the AFC Championship game come Sunday.
