The New England Patriots dominated against the Los Angeles Chargers in the Wild Card round on Sunday, winning the first playoff game at Gillette Stadium in five years. Although the offense got points on the board, it was New England’s defense that led the way for the team and it will need to continue for the Patriots to extend their playoff run.
This was the first game since Week 13 that the Patriots had their entire starting lineup healthy and on the field together and the impact they made was quite literally game-changing as New England’s defense is coming back to form at the right time. Keep in mind, this defense started the season as one of the best rushing defenses in the NFL by not allowing a running back to have at least 50-yards through the first nine weeks of the season.
Patriots' Defensive Performance vs. Chargers Paints a Bright Future
In this game, the Patriots defense held the Chargers offense to having only one play of 10-plus yards, one third down conversion (1-for-10), and it was the first time this season that they held an opponent to scoring under 10-points. Furthermore, the Pats also made a season-high six sacks to go along with 11 hits on the quarterback. This was by far one of the most dominant and complete games from the defense all season and it could not have happened at a better time.
Patriots defensive play caller Zak Kuhr increased their blitzes and created a 36.4% pressure rate on Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert, finishing with 39 pressures, per Pro Football Focus. With a full arsenal on defense, Kuhr is able to call a more exotic style and display a new level of defense for the playoffs. After Sunday’s game, Patriots starting linebacker and team captain, Robert Spillane, explained that some of the Chargers offensive players said they were confused as to what coverage and defensive packages New England was running against them.
“Zak has been great all year. He keeps the dial spinning, he keeps offenses guessing. All year he’s been doing that. After the game, talking to a few of the guys on their team, they had no clue what we were doing and they came up and said that ‘we had no idea what you guys were in all game,'" Spillane said. "So for him just to be able to build those packages throughout the week, our backend players to know how to disguise the different defenses, it really keeps quarterbacks guessing.”
Patriots Defense Could Make or Break Super Bowl Chances
The Patriots defense will need to continue this level of play for their run to the Super Bowl to continue. For as great as Drake Maye and New England's attack has been this season, the team was designed on the back of the defense being able to carry the offense led by a second year quarterback with a new offensive coordinator in his first season as the full time starter.
By having the starting unit available, it increases the likelihood of the game being just a little easier for Maye with the logic being that he’s not playing from behind and can control the game. This isn’t to say that the Patriots' QB1 is incapable or he isn’t ready for the moment, but the plan was always to have this veteran-led defense support Maye and we’re seeing it come to fruition in the playoffs.
New England's next test is on Sunday afternoon against the Houston Texans at Gillette Stadium. It will be just the second consecutive playoff game in Foxborough since the 2017 playoffs when the Patriots hosted the Tennessee Titans and the Jacksonville Jaguars in the Divisional Round and the AFC Championship Game, respectively.
And if the Patriots want to keep hosting games at Gillette Stadium this postseason, the defense must show up in a big way again this weekend.