Patriots stifle Chargers for first playoff win since Brady-Belichick era
FOXBOROUGH, MA – In Mike Vrabel’s words, and his world, January football – the NFL playoffs in layman’s terms – are for the big dogs.
And bloody lips, apparently.
The New England Patriots head coach was on the receiving end of a celebratory head-butt from a helmeted Milton Williams late in the Pats’ 16-3 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday in the wild-card round.
“We talked to them about spilling some blood out there, that the big dogs come out in January,” Vrabel said. “I think Milt took that to heart in the way he played the game, in the way he finished the game. He came over and got me pretty good.”
New England will host the winner of the Pittsburgh Steelers-Houston Texans game (Monday, 8:15 p.m. ET, ESPN/ABC) next weekend. It was the Patriots’ first postseason win since Tom Brady and Bill Belichick defeated the Los Angeles Rams, 13-3, in Super Bowl 53. This time, it was Vrabel’s unit holding a different team from Los Angeles to three points.
Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert, playing behind a banged-up and beleaguered offensive line for the final time this season, wasn’t bloodied as much as he was battered. The Patriots racked up 11 hits and six sacks across 31 dropbacks, with the signal-caller taking off on 10 rushing attempts (for 57 yards) on top of that. Herbert finished 19-for-31 with 159 passing yards.
The final Patriots sack, by Williams on fourth down with less than two minutes remaining, is what sent the first-year Patriot to the sideline in a frenzy. Vrabel had brought up the “big dog” mantra in the first meeting of the week to him and fellow defensive lineman Christian Barmore.
“We were hearing it all week,” said Williams, who won Super Bowl 59 as a member of the Philadelphia Eagles last season. “We showed up.”
Williams’ was receptive to Vrabel’s patented needling.
“I was like ‘All right, talk that (expletive), I want to hear it,’” he said. “I like when people talk (expletive), so I can – gives me a little extra juice.”
Which resulted in him head-butting everybody – even his helmet-less coach.
“He’ll be all right,” Williams said.
Patriots beat Chargers without MVP version of Drake Maye
There were 26 touchdowns scored in the first four games of NFL wild-card weekend. Only one was needed to put the game decidedly in the hands of the Patriots. Quarterback Drake Maye hit tight end Hunter Henry with a perfect pass near the front-left pylon that turned a one-possession game into a two-score game with 9:15 remaining.
For a quarterback who finished with the best competition percentage in the league and highest in team history (72.0), the final stat line – 17-for-29 for 268 yards through the air – will make his passing performance look better than the game tape. It was an inauspicious start for Maye in his playoff debut. The second-year signal-caller’s first halves have contained the bulk of his production in his MVP-contending campaign. Twenty-one of his 31 passing touchdowns and three of his four rushing scores came in the first half of games in 2025. But he was 6-for-15 in the first half with 95 passing yards, 48 of those coming on a checkdown to Rhamondre Stevenson.
His legs were the deciding factor against the Chargers. As the first half concluded, he relied on his wheels – once to sneak for a first down, another to take off to move the chains again for a pickup of 8. The most effective rush was a 37-yard scramble – the longest run by a quarterback in Pats history – into the red zone to set up Andy Borregales’ 35-yard field goal to close out the first half and give New England a 6-3 advantage.
“Bittersweet the season ended like this,” Chargers wide receiver Keenan Allen said. “Definitely felt like we had a team that was capable of making a run for it.”
The Chargers’ defense, meanwhile, kept the team in the game for nearly all 60 minutes. Two takeaways – one tipped interception and one strip-sack of Maye – were vital in that effort. But the Chargers were 1-for-10 on third down. The interception, induced by Teair Tart putting his hands up and deflecting it to Derwin James, who bobbled the ball that was finally hauled in by Daiyan Henley, set the Chargers up 10 yards from the end zone.
“We got to take care of the football,” Vrabel said of his quarterback’s performance. “Thought he came through when we needed him. The tipped pass is something that was unfortunate. That turned into an interception. But the throw to Hunter I thought when we needed him was elite.”
Jim Harbaugh kept his offense on the field on fourth down instead of settling for a field goal and the Patriots came up with a key red-zone stop; the Chargers were 0-for-2 in the red zone.
“We have to do better than three points,” Herbert said. “As an offense, it’s got good enough. Quarterback play wasn’t good enough. We let the defense down today.”
New England outgained Los Angeles 381-207. Vrabel credited inside linebackers coach Zak Kuhr for coming up with the game plan and calling the defensive plays.
“They won the game for us,” Maye said of the Patriots’ defense. “I didn’t throw very well tonight. Need to be better. We did what we had to do. That’s what it takes in the playoffs. Proud of this team. That was fun to get one at home. Look forward to being back here next week.”
Herbert has been navigating a broken left hand for the last month of the season. His offensive line that had been without its best players (tackles Joe Alt and Rashawn Slater) for most, if not all (as in Slater’s case), of the season.
Maye had 55 rushing yards on 5 carries to sustain the Pats in the first half. He was the game’s leading rusher with 69 rushing yards on 7 attempts (prior to the three ceremonial kneel-down attempts to run out the clock) and avoided a relentless Chargers pass rush despite taking five sacks.
And he showed off his elite arm talent, with a trio of intermediate touch passes against Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter’s zone-heavy scheme that went for chunk gains – including the touchdown to Henry.
There have been plenty of “MVP” chants for Maye at Gillette Stadium this season. The ones following his touchdown toss to Henry were the loudest.
