The New England Patriots are in the Divisional Playoffs for the first time since 2018. Their defense dominated against the Los Angeles Chargers.

The New England Patriots have secured their first playoff win since Super Bowl LIII in February 2019 with Tom Brady.

In the Wild Card Round, head coach Mike Vrabel’s team beat the Los Angeles Chargers 16-3 (6-3).

The game did not start well for the Patriots and Drake Maye. The quarterback, who had the best pass completion rate of any playmaker in the regular season, threw an interception in front of his own end zone on the second drive.

However, the Chargers were unable to capitalize on this, with Herbert’s pass on fourth down landing in no man’s land. New England, on the other hand, scored the first points. After long passes from Maye to Rhamondre Stevenson and Efton Chism, kicker Andy Borregales converted safely from 23 yards shortly after the start of the second quarter – 3-0.

The Chargers’ next drive also came to a halt just short of the end zone, but this time head coach Jim Harbaugh opted for the field goal, and Cameron Dicker kicked the ball between the posts from 21 yards to make it 3-3.

A 37-yard run by Maye made a second Borregales field goal possible seconds before the break. The Patriots went into the locker room with a 6-3 lead.

Chargers at Patriots: Henry celebrates against his former team

And in the second half, it was once again the defenses that provided the highlights. First, the Patriots sent Herbert back to the bench after three plays, then the Chargers, in the form of Odafe Oweh, forced a fumble by Maye.

While Los Angeles remained scoreless, New England added a field goal to make it 9-3 after three quarters.
At this point, the Chargers offense had gained just 137 yards. In the final quarter, there was finally a touchdown – scored by former Charger Hunter Henry after a perfect pass from Maye.

Herbert found no answer in the remaining ten minutes. A sack against the most sacked quarterback in the league fittingly ended the game.

The 27-year-old playmaker thus lost his third playoff game.

NFL: Patriots also at home in divisional playoffs

In the divisional round, the Patriots will now face the winner of the Houston Texans at Pittsburgh Steelers game at home.

In the other AFC semifinal, the top-seeded Denver Broncos will host the Buffalo Bills after receiving a bye in the wild card round.