The Patriots’ 16-3 win over the Chargers was not a great game, but New England quarterback Drake Maye says he’s glad the Patriots were great on one side of the ball.
“It wasn’t pretty, that’s for sure, but this defense was so fun to watch,” Maye said. “Congrats to them. It was so fun to watch. They won the game for us. I didn’t throw very well tonight, need to be better, but we did what we had to do. And that’s what it takes in the playoffs. Proud of this team. That was fun. That was fun to get one at home and look forward to being back here next week.”
It’s true that Maye had one of his lesser games throwing the ball, completing 17 of 29 passes for 268 yards, with one touchdown and one interception. But he had the best game of his career running the ball, with 10 carries for a career-high 66 yards. And even those numbers don’t tell the full story, as Maye actually had seven carries for 69 yards before his kneeldowns on the final three plays made his official stats look worse.
Maye said his team has believed in itself all season, and that hasn’t changed.
“Just glad we had a win,” Maye said. “Proud of this team. We never doubted it.”
Patriots Clips
The games have been set. The dates have been picked.
And that’s all we know, for now, about the divisional round of the playoffs.
The NFL has announced that Bills at Broncos and 49ers at Seahawks will be played on Saturday, January 17. On Sunday, January 18, the Bears will host the Rams and the winner of Monday night’s Texans-Steelers game will travel to New England for a game against the Patriots.
However, the league has not assigned a time to any of the games, or a network.
Between NBC, Fox, CBS, and ESPN, each will have one of the games. The Saturday contests will kick off at 4:30 p.m. ET and 8:00 p.m. ET. On Sunday, the games will start at 3:00 p.m. ET and 6:30 p.m. ET.
The Bills and 49ers will play on six days’ rest, against teams that will be going two weeks between games. (The Seahawks will have had 15 days between the Week 18 game and the division-round contest.)
The rest of the schedule will be set after Monday night’s game, when either the Texans or Steelers will earn a ticket to Gillette Stadium on Sunday.
New England is headed to the divisional round.
For the first time since 2018, the Patriots have won a playoff game with their 16-3 victory over the Chargers.
The club will stay home next weekend to play the winner of Monday night’s matchup between Houston and Pittsburgh.
While neither the Patriots nor Chargers had much success offensively in the first half, New England put up a pair of field goals to go up 6-3 at the break.
But in the second half, the dam finally broke after another Patriots field goal when quarterback Drake Maye connected with Hunter Henry for a 28-yard touchdown pass to put the club up by two possessions.
From there, New England’s pash rush became that much more overwhelming for quarterback Justin Herbert. With Herbert already dealing with a fractured left hand, the Patriots registered 11 total QB hits on him with six sacks — including, poetically, on Los Angeles’ final offensive play of the night.
Herbert finished the contest just 19-of-31 for 159 yards. He was also the Chargers’ leading rusher, gaining 57 yards on 10 attempts. But those runs also gave New England more opportunities to hit Herbert.
Los Angeles finished with just 207 total yards and was 1-of-10 on third down. No Chargers receiver had more than three receptions, with Ladd McConkey leading the way with 32 yards.
Both quarterbacks were the leading rusher for his respective team, as Maye led with 66 yards on 10 carries, including a key 37-yard run that set up a late field goal in the second quarter. But Rhamondre Stevenson also had 53 yards on 10 attempts to give the offense some more balance.
Maye was 17-of-29 for 268 yards with a touchdown, interception, and a lost fumble.
Stevenson also led the club with 75 yards on three receptions. Kayshon Boutte caught four passes for 66 yards. Henry had three receptions for 64 yards with a TD.
New England’s game against the winner of the matchup between Pittsburgh and Houston will be played on Sunday, January 18.
At long last, there has been a touchdown in Sunday night’s postseason matchup between the Patriots and Chargers.
New England quarterback Drake Maye fired a 28-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter to give the Pats a 16-3 lead with 9:45 left in regulation.
Maye was able to evade defenders in the pocket before moving to his left and hitting an open Hunter Henry downfield for the score.
It was the first touchdown of the night, as both teams have struggled to maintain an offensive rhythm.
It was also the first postseason touchdown pass of Maye’s career.
At this point, Maye is 18-of-29 for 268 yards with a touchdown, an interception, and a lost fumble
Notably, Patriots cornerback Christian Gonzalez is questionable to return as he’s being checked for a concussion.
Neither the Chargers nor the Patriots have been able to get in much of an offensive rhythm in the first half of their wild card matchup, as the teams are tied 3-3 at halftime.
The teams have gone a combined 2-of-10 on third down — 1-of-5 each. The clubs also have just eight first downs each. New England has outgained Los Angeles 171 to 117.
The Patriots scored first, with rookie Andy Borregales connecting on a 23-yard field goal to cap a long drive early in the second quarter for a 3-0 lead.
Then Cameron Dicker came on for a 21-yard field goal, helping the Chargers cash in on a possession that went deep into New England territory after the club had failed on fourth down earlier in the contest.
Finally, the Patriots scored again to effectively close the half, with Borregales hitting from 35 yards.
Quarterback Drake Maye is 6-of-15 for 95 yards with an interception, which came on a tipped pass. Maye is also the leading rusher with 55 yards on five attempts — including a 37-yard run late in the second period.
For the Chargers, Justin Herbert is 10-of-13 for 93 yards. Keenan Allen leads with three catches and 25 yards.
On the injury front, Patriots cornerback Carlton Davis is questionable to return with a toe injury.
The Chargers will receive the second-half kickoff.
Update 9:50 p.m. ET: Davis has returned to the game to start the second half.
The Chargers were not able to take advantage of a big takeaway midway through the first quarter of Sunday’s wild card matchup with the Patriots.
After Los Angeles elected to take a delay of game on fourth-and-2 from the New England 47, the Chargers’ punt was downed at the 8-yard line to put the Patriots in unfavorable field position.
On second-and-11 from the New England 7, quarterback Drake Maye was looking for tight end Austin Hooper over the middle when the ball was tipped at the line and eventually intercepted by linebacker Daiyan Henley to set the Chargers up with first-and-goal.
After three Justin Herbert runs, the quarterback was pressured and flushed from the pocket to his right. Herbert tried to fire one to veteran receiver Keenan Allen, but the pass was well high and landed out of bounds, incomplete.
Neither team has been able to get into much of a rhythm offensively early on in the contest.
The Chargers will have one of their key offensive players for Sunday’s wild card matchup against the Patriots.
Los Angeles running back Omarion Hampton is active for the game after he was listed as questionable with an ankle injury.
Hampton, who did not play in the regular-season finale last week, tallied 545 yards with four touchdowns in the regular season. He also caught 32 passes for 192 yards with a TD in his nine games.
He was a limited participant on Friday after not participating on Wednesday on Thursday.
For the Patriots, receiver Kayshon Boutte, linebacker Harold Landry, and offensive tackle Thayer Munford are all active after they were labeled as questionable.
Los Angeles’ inactives are cornerback Isas Waxter, safety Kendall Williamson, outside linebacker Bud Dupree, outside linebacker Kyle Kennard, offensive tackle Austin Deculus, receiver Dalevon Campbell, and tight end Tyler Conklin.
New England’s inactives are nose tackle Khyiris Tonga, guard Caedan Wallace, outside linebacker Bradyn Swinson, tight end C.J. Dippre, offensive tackle Marcus Bryant, receiver Jeremiah Webb, and quarterback Tommy DeVito. DeVito is the emergency third quarterback.
Justin Herbert hopes the third time will be a charm.
Now in his sixth NFL season, the Chargers quarterback will be playing his third career playoff game tonight, at New England. He’s winless in two prior trips to the postseason.
The first came three years ago, when a 27-0 lead melted into a 31-30 loss at Jacksonville. Last year, Herbert had four interceptions in a 32-12 loss to the Texans in Houston.
This year, Herbert has been playing through a broken bone in his left hand. He finished in the top 10 in passing yards (3,727) and touchdown passes (26). He had 498 rushing yards and a pair of touchdowns.
It all boils down to tonight. The Chargers last won a playoff game in 2018. Their current 0-3 streak started with a loss to the Patriots in the divisional round that year.
If the Chargers win, they’ll go to Denver next weekend — and the Bills will visit the winner of the Texans-Steelers game.
Football teams look for any and all motivation they can find. The Associated Press has given them a little something in advance of their first home playoff game since 2019.
The Patriots, despite going 14-3, have no first-team All-Pros. As noticed be researcher Dan Kelley, and confirmed by NBC Sports research, it’s only the second time since the AP started picking All-Pro teams in 1940 that a team that won 14 or more games had no first-team All-Pros.
The other? The 2016 Patriots, who went 14-2.
That year, Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan was the first-team All-Pro over Tom Brady. Of course, the Patriots ultimately had the last laugh, winning Super Bowl LI after falling behind in the third quarter, 28-3.
This year, the failure of the Pats to put any player among the first-team All-Pros could provide an extra little kick in the butt as the Patriots prepare to face the Chargers tonight.
The Chargers activated tight end Tucker Fisk from injured reserve on Saturday, the team announced.
Fisk went on injured reserve Dec. 8 with an ankle injury.
He has two receptions for 19 yards in 10 games this season, playing 233 offensive snaps and 27 on special teams.
The Chargers placed wide receiver KeAndre Lambert-Smith on injured reserve in a corresponding move. He injured his hamstring in Week 18.
The team also elevated wide receiver Dalevon Campbell and cornerback Isas Waxter from the practice squad for Sunday’s game.
Campbell, who spent the offseason and training camp with the Chargers, saw action in a pair of games early in the season with the Panthers before being inactive twice for the Chargers as a standard elevation.
Waxter has spent the season on the Chargers’ practice squad after initially signing with Seattle as an undrafted free agent in May.
