Sunday Night Football and the “Road to Super Bowl LX” heads to Foxborough for a Wild Card meeting between the Los Angeles Chargers and the AFC East champion New England Patriots. The Chargers are making their second postseason appearance in as many seasons under Head Coach Jim Harbaugh, while the Patriots are playing their first playoff game with quarterback Drake Maye and head coach Mike Vrabel.
The Chargers finished second in the AFC West for the second straight season under Harbaugh. Last season, Justin Herbert threw four interceptions, and the Chargers lost in Houston to the Texans, 32-12. Vrabel led New England to a 10-win improvement this season - tied for the largest win total increase in NFL history (the Pats went 4-13 and finished last in the AFC East in each of the previous two seasons). The Patriots are back in the playoffs for the first time since the 2021 season after winning their first division title since Tom Brady’s last season with the team (2019).
New England won the last playoff meeting between these two teams taking the 2018 Divisional Round matchup, 41-28. The Chargers won at Baltimore in the Wild Card Round that postseason before losing that game at Gillette Stadium. New England went on to win SB LIII against the Rams that postseason but have yet to win a playoff game since (0-2). Actually, the Chargers have not won a playoff game since that postseason either. Only two current Chargers – WR Keenan Allen and S Derwin James – actually played in their last playoff win which is two more than the number of Patriots who played in their last playoff win.
These two franchises may be winless in the playoffs since 2018, but Mike Vrabel is not. The first-year Pats’ coach was the head coach of Tennessee in 2019, and his Titans defeated New England in Foxborough, 20-13, in what would turn out to be Brady’s last game as a Patriot.
Lets dive into the matchup a little deeper and look at the playoff history of these teams, their current quarterbacks, injuries, and a few stats and trends for each.
NBC Sports has all the latest info and analysis you need, including how to tune in for kickoff, odds from DraftKings, player news and updates courtesy of Rotoworld, and of course our predictions and best bets for the game from our staff of experts.
Game Details and How to Watch: Chargers at Patriots live Sunday
- Date: Sunday, January 11, 2026
- Time: 8PM EST
- Site: Gillette Stadium
- City: Foxborough, MA
- Network/Streaming: NBC / Peacock
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Game Odds: Chargers at Patriots
The latest odds as of Friday courtesy of DraftKings:
- Moneyline: Los Angeles Chargers (+160), New England Patriots (-192)
- Spread: Patriots -3.5 (-108)
- Total: 45.5 points
This game sits right where it opened New England -3.5 with the Toal set at 45.5.
Be sure to check out DraftKings for all the latest game odds & player props for every matchup this week on the NFL schedule!
Playoff History: Chargers at Patriots
Los Angeles Chargers
All-Time Playoffs: 12-20
Wild Card Round: 6-4
Divisional Round: 4-8
AFC Championship: 1-3
Super Bowl: 0-1
Pre-1966: 1-4
New England Patriots
All-Time Playoffs: 37-22
Wild Card Round: 4-6
Divisional Round: 16-6
AFCChampionship: 11-4
Super Bowl: 6-5
Pre-1966: 0-1
Quarterback Matchup: Chargers at Patriots
Chargers Starting QB: Justin Herbert
Last Game: 12/27 vs. Houston – 21-32, 236yds, 1TD, 1INT, Sacked 5 times, 6 carries for 37yds rushing
Season: 16GP, 340-512, 3727yds, 26TDs, 13INTs, Sacked 54 times, 83 carries for 498yds rushing- Patriots Starting QB: Drake Maye
Last Game: 1/4 vs. Miami – 14-18, 191yds, 1TD, 0INTs, Sacked 47 time, 103 carries for 450yds rushing
Season: 17GP, 354-492, 4394yds, 31TDs, 8INTs, Sacked 47 times, 103 carries for 450yds rushing
Chargers at Patriots: Team Stats and Betting Trends
- The Chargers are 8-8-1 ATS this season
- The Patriots are 11-6 ATS this season
- The OVER has cashed in 6 of the Chargers’ 17 games this season (6-10-1)
- The OVER has cashed in 11 of the Patriots’ 17 games this season (11-5-1)
- Since the playoffs expanded to 14 teams in 2020, #7 seeds are 1-9 in the Wild Card Round (#7 Green Bay won at #2 Dallas in the 2023 postseason)
- Only 5 teams have won 3 straight road games enroute to making the Super Bowl (1985 Patriots – Lost SB, 2005 Steelers – Won SB, 2007 Giants – Won SB, 2010 Packers - Won SB, 2020 Bucs – Won SB)
- For the first time since the 1998 season, back when Dan Marino and John Elway were still starting quarterbacks, the NFL playoffs won’t feature at least one of Patrick Mahomes, Tom Brady, or Peyton Manning
- Justin Herbert is 0-2 in the playoffs
- Drake Maye is making his playoff debut
- Herbert now has the 2nd-most passing yards by a QB through their first 6 seasons (24,820), behind only Peyton Manning (24,885)
- Herbert’s 163 TD passes are 6th-most by any QB through their first six seasons
- Herbert was pressured 263 times (per PFF), the most of any QB in the NFL
- Herbert was sacked a franchise-record 54 times this season (3rd -most in NFL), behind LV’s Geno Smith and TEN’s Cam Ward (both 55)
- The Chargers have used 11 different starting OL combinations this season (T-most w/ Carolina)
- Since 2000 (Bill Belichick’s first season as Pats’ head coach), the Patriots have 30 postseason wins (at least 10 more than any other team)
- The Patriots are 23-5 (.821) in postseason home games – the 2nd-highest win percentage all-time (Cardinals are 5-0)
- The Patriots’ 17 opponents this season had a combined .391 winning percentage during the regular season (the easiest schedule in the league - next lowest was DEN - .422)
- The Patriots had only 3 games against teams that ended the regular season with a winning record, going 1-2 in those games (split vs. the Bills and lost vs. the Steelers)
- Drake Maye led the NFL in passer rating (113.5), yards/attempt (8.9) and completion percentage (72%)
- The Pats are 7-0 when Maye is sacked fewer than three times (7-3 when he is sacked 3+ times)
Chargers Player Injuries
- RB Omarion Hampton (ankle) is questionable for Sunday’s game
- WR Keandre Lambert-Smith (hamstring) is questionable for Sunday’s game
- LB Bud Dupree (hamstring) is questionable for Sunday’s game
- S Elijah Molden (hamstring) is questionable for Sunday’s game
- LB Del’Shawn Phillips (undisclosed) is questionable for Sunday’s game
- S Kendall Williamson (ankle) is questionable for Sunday’s game
- OT Austin Deculus (oblique) is questionable for Sunday’s game
Patriots Player Injuries
- WR Kayshon Boutte (hamstring) is questionable for Sunday’s game
- OT Verderian Lowe (undisclosed) is questionable for Sunday’s game
- LG Jared Wilson (concussion) is questionable for Sunday’s game
- C Garrett Bradbury (undisclosed) is questionable for Sunday’s game
- NT Khyiris Tonga (foot) is questionable for Sunday’s game
- LB Harold Landry III (knee) is questionable for Sunday’s game
- OT Thayer Munford Jr. (knee) is questionable for Sunday’s game
Rotoworld Best Bets
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Our model calculates projections around each moneyline, spread and over/under bet for every game on the NFL calendar based on data points like past performance, player matchups, stadium information and weather forecasts.
Once the model is finished running, we put its projection next to the latest betting lines for the game to arrive at a relative confidence level for each wager.
Best bets our model is projecting for this week’s game between the Chargers and the Patriots
- Moneyline: Rotoworld Bet is leaning towards a play on the Chargers on the Moneyline.
- Spread: Rotoworld Bet is leaning towards a play on the Chargers +3.5.
- Total: Rotoworld Bet is leaning towards a play on the Game Total UNDER 45.5.
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