The New England Patriots dynasty did not end Sunday afternoon in the AFC Divisional Round game, instead the team showed why they are still here.
Everyone had their popcorn ready for the demise of Tom Brady and the New England Patriots. Instead, what they watched was a well-oiled machine so hot that the cold temperatures in Foxboro did not matter.
Well, maybe it mattered for the Los Angeles Chargers. But, for Bill Belichick and his crew, it was business as usual as the team scored on its first five possessions in route to a 41-28 thrashing of the Chargers at Gillette Stadium early Sunday afternoon.
In what now sets up an AFC Championship showdown with Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs next weekend, the New England Patriots simply came out clicking in all facets of the game. The offense really set the tone by taking the opening drive all the way down the field and putting an early touchdown on the board.
Philip Rivers and the Chargers answered right back, but the tone of the game had been set and Tom Brady and his bunch took their next drive down the field to punch right back.
Led by the dominance of the offensive line and running of Sony Michel, the New England Patriots had the Chargers on the ropes early in the second quarter. In fact, the knockout punch came on a third rushing touchdown by Michel. Then, the Patriots’ defense held their ground the rest of the way.
The overall performance had New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick with a slight smile after the game.
"“A great job by our team today,” Belichick said following the game. “I couldn’t be prouder of the effort from the coaching staff, players. Had a really good week. Obviously, ready to go. Played a good game today against a good football team. The Chargers are really, as I said all week, very impressive in everything they do. I thought our team played well and made plays in every area and played with a lot of energy, a lot of effort.”"
In the 41-28 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers, here are five observations from a dominant AFC Divisional Round performance.
Offensive line won line of scrimmage
With the New England Patriots winning the toss and electing to receive the ball, you just knew Bill Belichick and offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels had something up their sleeves.
What they had up their sleeves was a power running game mixed with a quick passing game to chew up half the clock. In the drive that lead to a quick 7-0 lead, the offensive line really stood up by protecting Brady, blocking and getting out on quick screen passes.
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That was the theme the entire game as big Trent Brown, Shane Andrews and Shaq Mason really stood out in opening holes and getting out and blocking on screen plays. They did get a little help from a man named Rob Gronkowski, but overall they were physical, nasty and consistent.
The way they held both Joey Bosa and Melvin Ingram at bay was monumental in allowing Brady the time to work his magic. They also took advantage of the Chargers decision to play seven defensive backs in the game by knocking them back and allowing the running game to control the clock.
Tom Brady certainly appreciated the work of his offensive line.
"“It was great,” Brady said when asked about the value of his blocking on Sunday. “Yeah, it was great, and we need everybody. We need all of our best players. There’s four teams left, or five right now, four soon. It’s going to take our best.”"
Going up against the Kansas City Chiefs next week in a hostile atmosphere, the offensive line will need to duplicate this performance to keep the crowd out of the game and the Chiefs’ offense off the field.
Frustrating Philip Rivers
In this much anticipated showdown between Tom Brady and Philip Rivers, it was once again Brady coming out on top as the Los Angeles Chargers veteran quarterback fell to 0-8 in games where Brady was on the opposite side.
It started out like it was going to be an offensive showdown. After the New England Patriots took the opening kickoff down the field for a touchdown, Rivers fired back by connecting on a bomb to a wide open Keenan Allen.
The double move Allen put on Stephon Gilmore tied the game at 7-7, but that was the last we really heard from the Chargers ‘offense till the second half. Following that drive, the Patriots’ defense really settled in and frustrated Philip Rivers. With consistent pressure, they had the veteran quarterback scrambling to find something offensively.
With a few knockdowns and sacks, they also had him pleading on a consistent basis with the officials. The key coming into the game was getting pressure on Rivers and that’s what the Patriots did by mimicking a defense similar to the Baltimore Ravens.
Following the game, Bill Belichick summed it all up:
"“Again, [Philip] Rivers does a real good job of getting the ball out of there. I thought we got good pressure on him but he still was able to step up and somehow avoid it and get the ball out. I thought our players rushed- our defense, we had a lot of guys – linebackers, d-linemen, in a couple of cases DBs – but I thought we put constant pressure on him. I thought he handled it well like he always does but we just kept battling.”"
In all, Rivers ended up with over 300 yards passing and three touchdowns, but much of that came after the game was already decided. With players like Adam Butler and Trey Flowers motoring around him all game, Rivers had to rush a lot of deep passes that played right into Bill Belichick hands.
Flowers deserves to get paid
Speaking of Trey Flowers, Sunday’s performance just proves how much the New England Patriots need to play the man.
Coming up big yet again in a playoff game, the fourth-year defensive end displayed his dominance and physicality along the defensive line. The end totals of the game shows just 1.0 sacks and one combined tackle, but Flowers was consistent interrupting things for Philip Rivers.
He did have another sack called back due to unnecessary roughness as he went low on Rivers, but the consistent pressure opened things up for other defensive linemen to get pressure on the Los Angeles Chargers quarterback as well.
In all, the defensive unit knew what they had to do to keep the Chargers’ offense in check.
"“We understood that we had to get [Philip Rivers] off the spot, not allow him to be comfortable in the pocket and not allow him to step up,” Flowers said in the Patriots locker room. “He’s a great quarterback, so we had to pressure him and get him off the spot. I think we executed that well today.”"
In all, it was another reminder of the big pay day in store for Trey Flowers. Let’s just hope it comes from the New England Patriots.
Michel showed he’s a Bulldog
All season long, the maturity and effectiveness of rookie running back Sony Michel was praised.
On Sunday, the New England Patriots running back showed that he is a big game performer who is capable of impacting a football game.
Channeling his days at the University of Georgia, Michel was simply outstanding in this game. With three rushing touchdowns and over 100 yards rushing in the first half alone, the 2018 first-round pick ran all over the Los Angeles Chargers with a combination of power and speed.
Take a look at this 40-yard run in the second quarter of the game:
In what led to the fourth touchdown of the game, Michel’s big-play ability really shined. While much of his running in Sunday’s game can be credited to the offensive line play, picking the right hole and taking advantage of that blocking is all Sony Michel which he summed up as concentration.
"“It’s all about concentration and the coach is going to call the best plays possible for us to succeed,” Michel said, via The Boston Herald. “Guys are going to take pride in executing plays and everybody doing their jobs allows us to do our jobs and the guys did a great job doing it.”"
The New England Patriots are a team that doesn’t usually lean on rookies, but they are doing to need a lot of Sony Michel against the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game.
Don’t underestimate Tom Brady
Don’t everyone know by now not to underestimate the ability of Tom Brady.
The 41-year-old quarterback heard all the noise about his demise and temporarily silenced his critics Sunday afternoon by leading this team to their eighth consecutive AFC Championship game.
Brady was simply flawless in his leadership on Sunday. In orchestrating and opening drive that knocked the wind out of the Los Angeles Chargers defense, he showed he is still a very capable and dangerous quarterback in big games.
Finding his reliable playmakers James White and Julian Edelman all game long, Tom Brady threw for 343 yards and one touchdown while posting a 106.5 quarterback rating. With the way the New England Patriots moved the ball, you really had the impressive those numbers could’ve been inflated even more.
Despite the performance and despite showing that he is still Tom Brady, the man who has established himself as the GOAT will now have to hear all week about how good Patrick Mahomes II is.
If the 43-40 victory back in Week 6 proved anything, it proved that Brady can hang with the young kid. What the playoffs will prove is that experience ultimately wins out, especially when the elder is being counted out.