Patriots suddenly dominant defense becomes the biggest wild card of the NFL playoffs

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- If you felt like you had déjà vu over the course of New England's defensive onslaught of the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday night, you're not alone. 

The Patriots' 16-3 victory on Wild Card Weekend had eerily similar callbacks to the last time the franchise secured a playoff victory. For that, you have to go all the way back to Super Bowl LIII when the franchise hoisted its sixth Lombardi Trophy after a 13-3 win over another L.A. team in the Rams. It was a near-identical defensive rock fight where New England held its opponent to a mere field goal, gave the opposing quarterback fits throughout the contest, and even needed a late reception from their star tight end to springboard the victory. 

At certain points, I was half expecting to see Marty McFly and Dr. Emmett Brown in the stands at Gillette Stadium. 

While similar, the key difference between the two is that the former was for a championship, while this latest victory is simply the first step in that pursuit. But are they on their way back to the winner's circle? Well, it depends on whether or not what we saw on Sunday night is sustainable or not. 

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New England's defense reached a different level against the Chargers. Their three points allowed were the fewest against any opponent this season, and it was the first time they held a club out of the end zone in a game all year. L.A. had no answers for what the Patriots were deploying on that side of the ball, converting just one of its 10 third-down opportunities, one of its three attempts on fourth down, and failing to cash in either of their two red zone trips for touchdowns. The Patriots also tagged Justin Herbert for six sacks and 11 total quarterback hits in the winning effort. As a team, they registered 20 pressures in the contest after averaging 13.3 pressures per game over the regular season, according to TruMedia. 

"Our defensive line did a phenomenal job," linebacker Robert Spillane said postgame, "Milton [Williams], [K'Lavon Chaisson], guys that are called upon in big situations, coming up with big-time plays. I could not be happier for those guys. Marcus Jones coming off the edge. He's always a feisty blitzer, and he gets the job done. So, for him to be able to come out and Milt [Milton Williams] with that game-winning sack, just to seal it, it is huge for us. We are just going to continue to build on what we already know works."

It was more than just impressive numbers from New England's defense. On a night where Drake Maye, an MVP candidate, didn't have his A-game and committed two turnovers, the defense rose to the occasion. After Maye's first-quarter interception gave L.A. the ball at the Patriots' 10-yard line, the defense proceeded to allow zero points and force a turnover on downs. 

Midway through the third quarter, Maye was stripped as New England was threatening to score after getting the football inside the red zone and clinging to a mere 6-3 lead. Similarly, the Patriots' defense stood tall and forced a punt four plays later. And once the offense woke up and extended the lead with a 28-yard touchdown pass from Maye to Hunter Henry, the other side of the ball helped slam the door shut with three emphatic sacks over L.A.'s final two possessions. 

"I thought they played extremely well, " head coach Mike Vrabel said of his defense postgame. "What our defense was able to do early in that game, in the red zone, inside the five-yard line or inside the nine-yard line, I think really set the tone for them for the rest of the game." 

There's no questioning how well New England's defense looked in this opening playoff win. What we can question, however, is whether or not they have evolved into a unit that can shell opposing offenses to the degree we saw on Sunday night as we advance through the postseason, or did they simply beat up on a flawed Chargers team that was down its starting offensive tackles? After all, Justin Herbert came into this game after a regular season where he was pressured an NFL-high 183 times. 

If it is the unit emerging from Wild Card Weekend, leveling up before our eyes, however, that suddenly makes this defense the biggest wild card of these NFL playoffs, and gives New England a ceiling quite similar to that team from 2018.