Rams-Panthers was a high-scoring shootout. Bears-Packers went down to the final play of the game. Bills-Jaguars ended on a last-minute pick. Eagles-49ers saw the Super Bowl champs bow out just 21 yards away from the end zone.
Patriots-Chargers was none of that. It wasn’t exciting, it wasn’t high-scoring and it did not come down to one final play.
On Sunday night, the Patriots defense was definitively the most dominant unit on the field – bringing constant pressure to stop Justin Herbert and the Los Angeles offense dead in their tracks drive after drive after drive.
The Patriots offense? Full of mistakes, miscues and self-inflicted errors.
Yet, second-year quarterback Drake Maye managed to just produce enough offense to put the Patriots back in the AFC Divisional round for the first time since the 2018 season.
New England relied heavily on field goals to earn points until Maye connected for a touchdown and the eventual 16-3 victory over the Chargers in Foxborough.
The defining image of the Chargers’ playoff run: Justin Herbert lying on the ground after a sack
Herbert was sacked six times by the Patriots pass rush in a slogging 16-3 defeat on Sunday
This marks the third playoff loss in three starts for Herbert in his career, who was sacked a shocking six times on the night for a loss of 39 yards.
He only completed 19-of-31 passes for a paltry 159 yards while also rushing ten times for 57 yards.
Maye, on the other hand, completed 17-of-29 passes for 268 yards, one touchdown and an early interception.
In fact, it was that early interception that may have been the distilled essence of the Chargers’ offensive evening.
Backed up inside the Patriots’ own 10-yard-line, Maye tossed a ball that deflected straight up in the air off the hands of tight end Austin Hooper and into the arms of the LA defense.
The Chargers merely needed to gain ten yards to score a touchdown. If not, they could have made one of the shortest field goals they could have possibly asked for.
Instead, they ran the ball three times before Herbert lofted a pass far over the head of Keenan Allen to turn the ball over on downs.
The only points the Chargers scored all night came on an 11 play, 69 yard drive that chewed up 6:40 of game time. Facing the exact same situation they did on the drive before, LA coach Jim Harbaugh made the right choice and trotted out the field goal unit to tie the game at 3-3.
Hunter Henry (85) caught the only touchdown pass of the night late in the fourth quarter
Los Angeles would not score another point all night. By game’s end, the Chargers would only gain a total of 207 yards.
New England’s defense pressured Herbert on 48 percent of his drop backs and blitzed him 45 percent of the time, according to Boston Sports Journal’s Greg Bedard.
Despite being given plenty of chances to turn the game into a blowout, the Patriots did not take full advantage.
New England kicked three field goals on the night, leaving plenty of points on the board, while Maye tossed a pick and was strip-sacked.
But the defense carried the day as the offense kept stalling their way toward a break-through moment.
It finally came midway through the fourth quarter when Maye connected with tight end Hunter Henry on a 28-yard touchdown pass to extend the lead.
The Chargers’ last-gasp drive saw them gain 45 yards in 14 plays. But, in perhaps the most fitting manner, it ended when Milton Williams sacked Herbert for the final time.
The Patriots now await the winner of the Monday night Wild Card game between the Houston Texans and the Pittsburgh Steelers.
