The Patriots’ Defense Stepped Up When It Mattered Most

From the big guys in the trenches all the way up to the secondary, New England played a hard-nosed defensive kind of ballgame reminiscent of the 2000s Patriots’ dynasty.

The Patriots’ Defensive Line Dominates Weakened Chargers O-Line

With key defensive anchors Milton Williams and Harold Landry healthy for the postseason, a high-powered performance from the defensive line would be the Patriots’ key to success in their first matchup.

Justin Herbert and the Chargers’ offense have been operating all year behind a banged up offensive line that lost Pro Bowl tackles Joe Alt and Rashawn Slater early in the season.

The Patriot defenders took advantage of the lack of unity from the Chargers linemen, with K’Lavon Chaisson having a career outing, recording two sacks and a forced fumble.

Chaisson’s former teammate and All-Pro Maxx Crosby took to social media to highlight the linebacker’s dominant performance.

But Chaisson was not the only star performer from the front seven. 

Milton Williams, who’s been clutch all season long, closed out yet another game by sacking Herbert on 4th-and-9 with under two minutes to go, ending the Chargers’ season.

“[The] big dogs come out in January,” Head Coach Mike Vrabel said at his postgame press conference.

The Patriots’ six sacks during the contest tied for second-most all time in a playoff game in team history.

But the pass rush couldn’t do it alone, the boys in the back provided airtight coverage in order to give the big dogs the opportunities to seal the deal.

The Secondary

A lockdown performance from the New England secondary led to trouble for Herbert all night long as the former Pro Bowler struggled to find any open receivers.

Herbert totaled just 159 passing yards; the Chargers’ leading receiver was Ladd McConkey who hauled in three catches for 32 yards.

All-Pro Christian Gonzalez did not allow a single reception across his five targets — not a single one.

The Chargers knew not to try Gonzalez, which led to Marcus Jones stepping up big in the slot.

Jones’ tight coverage on the Charger receivers led to pass breakups rather than big time plays from Herbert. Add a sack and a forced fumble for good measure, and Jones was able to walk out of Gillette Stadium with his head held high.

The Divisional Round matchup against either the Houston Texans or Pittsburgh Steelers will test New England once again. If the defense continues to play at this level, it’s not crazy to think that the Patriots could be back to playing in AFC Championship games, or even Super Bowls, sooner rather than later.