The AFC wild card game matchup in Foxborough against the second-seeded New England Patriots and the seventh-seeded Los Angeles Chargers ended up being a defensive battle where it seemed like the first team to score a touchdown would win the game. New England did so on a 28-yard touchdown pass from Drake Maye to tight end Hunter Henry in the Patriots' 16-3 home win.
The victory marked the first postseason win for New England post-Tom Brady and their first since winning Super Bowl LIII against the Los Angeles Rams to conclude the 2018 season. The Patriots will host the winner of Monday's matchup between the fifth-seeded Houston Texans and the fourth-seeded Pittsburgh Steelers in the divisional round.
Los Angeles' defense was the first to make a play with Chargers defensive tackle Teair Tart deflecting Patriots quarterback Drake Maye's throw from his own eight up into the air, and linebacker Daiyan Henley hauled in the deflection for an interception. The Chargers took over at the Patriots' 10 for first-and-goal in a scoreless game. However, Los Angeles ensuing drive stalled out for a turnover on downs at the two after a rollout incompletion by Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert on fourth-and-goal.
On the first play after the Chargers' turnover on downs at the two, Patriots running back Rhamondre Stevenson took a checkdown pass over the middle 48 yards to midfield for a total momentum shift back to New England. Yet, the Patriots drive stalled after a third-and-4 incompletion at the Chargers' 5, which resulted in a 23-yard field goal for the first points of the game with 13:32 left in the second quarter.
For the second time, Los Angeles faced a fourth-and-2 inside the 5, at the New England 3, but the second time around, Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh took the conservative choice and took a 21-yard field goal to tie the game with 6:52 left in the second quarter. A 37-yard scramble by Maye right up the middle of the field with the sea parting thanks to the Chargers dropping back in man coverage set the Patriots up inside the red zone at the Los Angeles 17. That allowed New England to drill a 35-yard field goal for a 6-3 lead at the half.
A New England 39-yard field goal was all the scoring for both teams in the third quarter, and then Maye put the game out of reach in the fourth quarter. Dropping back on play-action, he found a wide open Henry, who snuck behind the Chargers' zone coverage, for the 28-yard score. The game's opening touchdown put New England up 13, 16-3, with 9:45 left to play. Herbert was strip-sacked on the ensuing Los Angeles drive, but the Chargers defense held strong after edge rusher Odafe Oweh totaled his third sack of the night to strip the football away from Maye. However, New England recovered the loose ball and was able to punt the ball away.
Maye threw for 268 yards passing, a touchdown and an interception while completing 17 of his 29 throws while rushing for a game-high 66 yards on 10 carries. Herbert threw for 159 yards passing after completing 19 of his 31 throws while rushing for a team-high 57 yards on 10 carries.
Los Angeles and New England combined to allow 108 sacks in the regular season between the two teams, the most combined regular-season sacks allowed by squads in a playoff matchup against each other all time. Both defenses produced prolific sack numbers Sunday night – five by the Chargers, including three by Oweh, and six by the Patriots, including two each by defensive tackle Milton Williams and edge rusher K'Lavon Chaisson. Williams' second sack of Herbert on fourth-and-9 with two minutes left to play summed up the game perfectly.
The Patriots have their first playoff win since Super Bowl LIII, and it comes ina dominating effort against the Chargers. The story of the night was the defensive effort by New England and its ability to get after Justin Herbert, tallying six sacks on the night. From here, the Patriots will await the winner of Monday's matchup between the Houston Texans and Pittsburgh Steelers.
Boy, the Chargers offensive line has absolutely no answers for the Patriots and Justin Herbert is getting killed because of it. On a third-and-2 snap, Anfernee Jennings came in untouched to slam Herbert to the ground.
The Chargers seem to be melting down in front of us. Justin Herbert was walloped for a 13-yard strip-sack by K'Lavon Chaisson, and the loose ball was recovered by Christian Elliss at midfield. Everything is coming up Patriots at the moment, particularly on defense.
Dagger. Dart.
Drake Maye uncorked his best throw of the night, finding Hunter Henry for a 28-yard touchdown pass. It's a 16-3 lead for New England, and that may just about do it.
Press box announcement: Patriots star corner Christian Gonzalez is questionable with a head injury.
Los Angeles failed successfully? Marcus Jones was able to punch the ball out of Justin Herbert's hand, but the ball bounced perfectly to Kimani Vidal. The Chargers back then scooped up the loose ball and ran it for a 17-yard gain. It's been that type of game, and that type of Wild Card Weekend in the NFL.
Drake Maye had a wide-open Austin Hooper for a touchdown on second-and-4, but overthrew him. That led to the offense settling for a field goal.
New England is once again deep in Chargers territory thanks to a 42-yard gain by Kayshon Boutte. Let's see if they can come away with a touchdown. If so, it could be a dagger considering how this game is going.
The MVP of the night for New England has been the defense. The unit has bailed out the offense time and time again and has completely engulfed the Chargers. Los Angeles has converted just one of its seven third-down opportunities.
New England was looking to add to its lead after getting into the red zone, but Odafe Oweh had different ideas. He strip-sacked Drake Maye, and the Chargers were able to recover the loose ball, negating the scoring opportunity. Oweh beat left tackle Will Campbell, who hasn't been great tonight.
After Ladd McConkey got behind the secondary, Patriots corner Marcus Jones did an incredible job getting back and breaking up what would've been a chunk play for the Chargers. Instead of a big gain, L.A. punts on its opening possession of the third quarter.
After being listed as questionable with a toe injury, Patriots corner Carlton Davis is back on the field to begin the second half.
It's a rock fight in Foxborough with both teams settling for field goals throughout the first half despite getting deep into their opponents' territory. Between the two clubs, they are 0/4 in the red zone thus far tonight. New England was able to edge out a slim lead thanks to a 35-yard field goal by Andy Borregales just before halftime. The Chargers get the ball to begin the third quarter.
The Patriots are now in field goal range after Drake Maye ripped off a 37-yard gain and are set up at the Chargers 17 yard line. They'll have one or two shots at the end zone before a field goal attempt.
After having a relatively clean pocket for most of the first half, New England's pass rush is starting to get home against Justin Herbert. Inside of a minute left in the first half, the Patriots posted back-to-back sacks on Herbert to force an L.A. punt. They'll get the ball around midfield with 31 seconds to go and one timeout in their pocket to try an dadd to their lead.
The story early on in this matchup has been how each offense can't convert on key downs.
Third down efficiency
Patriots: 1/4
Chargers: 0/3
Red Zone
Patriots: 0/1
Chargers: 0/2
Once again, New England's defense stands firm inside the 10-yard line. The unit was able to stop Los Angeles short of the end zone, forcing the Chargers to settle for a field goal to knot the game at three apiece. While the defense has kept the Chargers out of the end zone, they've also given Justin Herbert all day to throw from the pocket.
New England's offense stalled out inside the 10-yard line and had to settle for a field goal, taking a 3-0 lead. Rhamondre Stevenson has been a standout thus far, breaking off a 48-yard catch-and-run to help spark the scoring opportunity.
After a scoreless first quarter, New England will begin the second quarter in the red zone. Efton Chism hauled in a 20-yard pass from Drake Maye to have them at the Chargers 11-yard line.
New England gave itself some breathing room after starting the drive on its 2-yard line following the turnover on downs. Drake Maye connected with Rhamondre Stevenson for a 48-yard catch and run to bring them to midfield. Stevenson has come on in recent weeks, which could prove to be an X-factor in this matchup.
Give credit to New England's defense as they stifled the Chargers offense following Drake Maye's interception. Justin Herbert couldn't find an open receiver and was forced to scramble on a couple of occasions. Jim Harbaugh left his offense on the field on fourth-and-goal from the 2-yard line and turned the ball over on downs. Would've been better off just getting points.
Los Angeles defensive tackle Teair Tart deflected Drake Maye's throw from his own eight up into the air, and Chargers linebacker Daiyan Henley hauled in the deflection for an interception. The Chargers take over at the Patriots' 10 for first-and-goal in a scoreless game.
Both teams have traded punts on their opening possessions. The Chargers had an interesting decision to make after New England played soft coverage on third-and-long, and L.A. then faced with a fourth-and-2 attempt on the New England side of the field. Instead of going for it, Jim Harbaugh opted for a delay of game penalty and a subsequent punt. It pins New England at their own 8-yard line.
Los Angeles called tails, and the coin landed tails. They deferred to the second half, so Drake Maye and the New England Patriots will get the ball to start this playoff matchup.
As referee Ron Tolbert said after the toss, "Let's play football."
Los Angeles running back Omarion Hampton was contacted behind the line of scrimmages on a whopping 52.4% of his carries this season, the third-highest rate in the NFL, minimum 100 carries, per NFL Pro. Hampton was also stopped for a loss or no gain on 24.2% of his carries, the fourth-highest rate in the NFL.
However, he forced a missed tackle on 29.8% of his rushes, the fourth-highest among the same group of players.
Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert produced 469 scramble rush yards this season, the most in the NFL. Fifteen of Herbert's 53 scrambles were for more than 10 yards, the second-most such scrambles in the league this season behind only Patrick Mahomes. The Patriots defense didn't face many mobile passers this season: their 29 scramble rushes they faced are tied for the fifth-fewest in the league. New England allowed 217 rushing yards on quarterback scrambles, the 11th-fewest fewest in the NFL.
Drake Maye ranks top two in the NFL in completions, completion percentage and passing touchdowns on throws of 15 or more air yards this season. However, so do the Chargers defense when it comes to defending such throws. This matchup could be crucial in deciding Sunday night's outcome.
| Passing 15-plus air yards this season | Drake Maye | Chargers defense |
|---|---|---|
Completions | 71 | 31 |
Completion percentage | 58% | 33% |
Pass TD | 12 | 4 |
* Both are top two in NFL in every category
Herbert is 0-2 in his playoff career with a couple memorable collapses, and he's looking to snap his postseason losing streak Sunday night.
| Justin Herbert playoff career | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|
2022 wild card round | Jaguars | Blew 27-0 second quarter lead (lost 31-30) |
2024 wild card round | Texans | Lost 32-12 (career-worsts in completion pct (44%) and interceptions (4) |
