The New England Patriots won a defensive battle on Sunday night against the visiting Los Angeles Chargers. Fans may not have been treated to offensive fireworks, but the game still ended up being the largest
margin of victory of the NFL’s wild card weekend so far.
Let’s get into our lessons learned from the Patriots’ first postseason win since Super Bowl LIII.
The defense steps up
The offense wasn’t at its best on Sunday, but it didn’t matter, because the defense stepped up and won the Patriots the game. When Drake Maye was intercepted at the 10-yard line on the second drive of the night, it looked like the Chargers were going to cash in on an early mistake. However, they were unable to score, and the Patriots took over at the 2-yard line with the game still tied at 0-0.
That was early in the game, but it still might have been a turning point for the Patriots. Getting that stop clearly boosted the morale, and the team was able to drive down the field themselves on the ensuing possession, even though it ultimately had to settle for a field goal.
Overall, the defense finished with six sacks of Justin Herbert, and forced two fumbles as well. The Chargers, who converted more third downs than any team during the regular season, finished 1-for-10, another huge reason why they were unable to score any touchdowns.
If the defense plays like this every week, the Patriots are going to be a tough team to be beat, especially because their offense should perform better moving forward as well. On Sunday, though, it was the defense that led the way to victory — just like when Mike Vrabel was a player here, winning Super Bowls with the Patriots.
Zak Kuhr devices a hell of a game plan
After the game, Robert Spillane shared that he was told by multiple Chargers players that their offense never had a grasp of what the Patriots were doing on defense. Herbert looked uncomfortable in the pocket throughout, and the Patriots brought pressure from a bunch of different spots at different times. It was an impressive performance from interim defensive coordinator Zak Kuhr, who has been running the show most of the season with Terrell Williams undergoing cancer treatment.
Multiple players stepped up on the line to turn Kuhr’s plan into practice, but the Chargers were often confused about who was coming, and the blitzes were perfectly timed. The Chargers O-line isn’t particularly firing on all cylinders considering the injuries it sustained through the year, but it was still an impressive performance by a unit and defensive coach who were thrown into a tough situation this season.
Kuhr should certainly be a name on the rise in the NFL.
The free agent pickups are worth every penny
It was fitting that the game effectively ended on a Milton Williams sack, because the Patriots’ free agent class paid huge dividends on Sunday night. He wasn’t the only one to stand out, after all.
Like Williams, K’Lavon Chaisson had a pair of sacks, with one of them resulting in a fumble. Robert Spillane was solid in run defense, and Carlton Davis was decent. The offensive signings didn’t look quite as good, but they have been solid enough that you have to believe they can be better next week.
It looks like the Patriots were wise to spend the way they did this offseason. For this game, and for most of the season, several of the players brought in made positive contributions. Williams ending the game was just icing on the cake.
Drake Maye struggles, but steps up when needed
Drake Maye did a fantastic job scrambling and picking up yardage, including a long run at the end of the first half to set up a field goal. He was not super accurate throwing the ball, however, finishing just 17-for-29 for 268 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Those aren’t terrible numbers, and there were a few drops and miscommunications in there, but it wasn’t what we have been used to seeing from Maye this year.
One of the surest signs that he was slightly off on Sunday was the fact that he had two fumbles while trying to keep plays alive instead of just taking sacks. It’s a mistake that he made in the Steelers game in Week 2, and one that he has done a nice job of not making again, until Sunday night.
With that being said, with the Patriots up 9-3, Maye led them on a fourth quarter drive to put the game out of reach on an absolutely perfect pass to Hunter Henry for a touchdown. The Patriots went up by two touchdowns with the score, and the Chargers would fail to muster any points the rest of the way.
It might not have been perfect, but that throw was, and it sealed the game for the Patriots. Maye will now have a chance to play better next weekend against another good defense in either the Steelers or Texans.
Rhamondre Stevenson continues his fantastic play
Rhamondre Stevenson has been one of the Patriots’ best offensive players the past month, and he continued that on Sunday. He finished with close to 130 yards from scrimmage, and had a few massive plays, including a 48-yard catch and run that helped set up the first Patriots field goal.
With TreVeyon Henderson not having a particularly noteworthy game (although he had one heck of a block on the Hunter Henry touchdown), it was important for Stevenson to step up as RB1, and he did. He always seems to find a way to pick up a few yards, even when there is nothing there, and to turn a 3-yard gain into a 5- or 6-yarder.
The Patriots are going to need his tough running, and his ability to make plays out of the backfield, if they want to continue in the playoffs. With the way he has played, there is no reason to doubt that they are going to get it from him.
Christian Gonzalez injury bears watching
The Patriots defense played a lot more man coverage on Sunday than they had most of the season. One of the reasons why they are able to do that is because they have Christian Gonzalez and Carlton Davis at corner.
Gonzalez, however, went out with an injury after breaking up a pass intended for Quentin Johnston in the early fourth quarter. He would stay in the game for the rest of that drive, but did not return after that.
He was replaced by Charles Woods, who has held his own in spots, but is hard to trust him in a big playoff game. The injury was announced as a head injury, meaning that if Gonzalez was placed in concussion protocol, there is a real chance that he could miss time or maybe even next Sunday’s game. Something that bears watching this week.
Marcus Jones is a force on defense and special teams
Marcus Jones was voted second-team All-Pro punt returner, and even got an All-Pro vote at slot cornerback as well. He has been having a phenomenal year, and that continued on Sunday. He had six tackles, including a massive stop of Justin Herbert, who outweighs him by almost 50 pounds, and also contributed a strip sack of Herbert (even though the ball was recovered by Chargers RB Kimani Vidal).
Jones was all over the place on defense and, even though his special teams contribution might not show up on the stat sheet, came up big at the end of the first half in the kicking game.
With the Chargers punting from their 27-yard line, they were in a tough spot. Kicking it deep and trying to pin the Patriots back is fine, but it would give Jones a chance to return the punt, which is not a good idea, or kick it high and short and force him to make a fair catch. The Chargers chose the latter, with Jones, of course, not calling the fair catch, and picking up 2 extra yards.
The Patriots were taking over at their own 46, and four plays later were lining up for a field goal which was set up because the Chargers’ punt team was very much afraid of Jones.
Will Campbell, and the rest of the O-line, have a hard time in their first playoff debut
Drake Maye was sacked five times on Sunday, and it seemed like he was under constant pressure all day. Sometimes it was because the coverage was very good, as the Chargers have prevented big plays in the passing game better than almost anyone else this year; other times it was because someone on the line got beat quickly and gave Maye no time to throw the ball.
Rookie left tackle Will Campbell seemed to have an especially tough time for most of the night, and you could tell that he was frustrated in himself at the end of the game. Fellow rookie Jared Wilson had a rough outing at left guard as well, though his diving fumble recovery may have saved a Chargers touchdown late in the fourth quarter. It’s not always going to be perfect starting two rookies next to one another on the O-line, but the performance is still going to have to be better than it was on Sunday if the Patriots want much of a chance to win next week’s playoff game.
Andy Borregales passes his first test
When the Patriots drafted Miami kicker Andy Borregales back in April, the second question he fielded during his introductory conference call was about kicking in the cold. On Sunday, he was perfect in cold conditions, making field goals of 23, 35, and 39 yards, and also hitting the only extra point he attempted.
The weather wasn’t exactly terrible, but the wind was swirling at Gillette Stadium, and Borregales was perfect anyway. It should give the Patriots and their fans confidence in the rookie moving forward.
Pittsburgh or Houston up next
The Patriots don’t yet know who (and when) they will be playing next Sunday, but they do know that the winner of Monday night’s game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Houston Texans will be coming into Gillette Stadium in the divisional round.
For matchup purposes, one would assume that the Patriots would rather play the Steelers and get a chance at revenge from the beginning of the season, when they turned the ball over a bunch and lost a very winnable game.
The Texans, on the other hand, have one of the best defenses in the league, and an elite pass rush, which could certainly give the Patriots some problems. They don’t have the best offense, though, and maybe the Patriots defense could carry them again.
Whoever they end up playing, they are going to have an opportunity to make another AFC Championship. The Patriots are early in the rebuild with this regime, but they have a real chance to make a deep run, and that will continue next Sunday. The game will be played at either 3 p.m. ET or 6:30 p.m. ET in Foxborough.
