The NFL playoffs are almost here, and for the New England Patriots, they return to the postseason after a three-season absence. In his first year as Patriots head coach, Mike Vrabel has taken New England from winning four games in two consecutive seasons to winning 14 games and winning the AFC East.
Heading into the wild-card round, the Patriots will host the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday Night Football. This will be one of the toughest games of the season for the Patriots, given the potential of the Chargers' offense. Before the game, New England received some bad news about one defender's status for Sunday.
Patriots' Khyris Tonga Ruled Out for Sunday's Wild Card Game
Earlier today, the Patriots announced that Khyris Tonga would miss the Chargers game due to a foot injury, per ESPN's Mike Reiss. Losing Tonga is a blow for the Patriots' defense, given his value as a run stopper. Tonga missed the final two games of the regular season with the same injury.
The Patriots' defense has been banged up for some time, with Harold Landry's status up in the air. New England did get good news during Week 18 with the return of Milton Williams to help strengthen the defensive line again. With Tonga's absence against the Chargers, Cory Durden should be in line for a bigger role.
Though Durden has played a limited role throughout the season, he has been effective when on the field. Of all defensive tackles with a minimum of 20 percent of snaps played this season, Durden ranks second in pass rush win rate. Against Los Angeles, this is huge since the Chargers' offensive line has been one of the worst at protecting the quarterback.
For New England to have the best chance of beating the Chargers, they will need Cory Durden to step up with Tonga sidelined. With Williams returning, coupled with Los Angeles' poor offensive line play as a whole on the season, Durden should be in line for a good performance. Given the stakes, having a favorable matchup for Durden will only add to his confidence on Sunday night, as well as the other 10 Patriots defenders lining up alongside him.
On the other side of the ball, it will be interesting to see how Drake Maye and the offense perform. Coming off a phenomenal sophomore season, it will be interesting to see how Maye handles the biggest game of his young career.