The Chargers are sniffing the playoffs, and the only thing standing in their way is the New England Patriots. The Patriots are 3-12 and have nothing to play for except their pride, as they are far out of the running for a playoff spot. This is what the Chargers have been looking for after a rough two-month stretch to the schedule.
Of course, there is no free win in the National Football League, and these Patriots are no exception. New England would be putting themselves in a better position with a loss, but their players don’t care about draft order. With that in mind, there are a lot of playmakers on this team that could make it a rougher ride for the Chargers than they would like it to be.
The most notable player on the Patriots for non-New England fans to watch on Saturday is Drake Maye. The rookie from UNC hasn’t had a great year in terms of counting stats, but he has shown flashes of an elite player multiple times throughout his first campaign. He has had interception problems, but he does have the capabilities to be something great in this league.
Maye is also mobile and could use it to his advantage against a Chargers defense that has had problems stopping mobile quarterbacks in the past few years. The Bolts’ best plan against Maye is to force him to air it out and hope his mistakes catch up to him. If Maye turns it over once or twice, it would be a big hole for the Patriots to dig themselves out of
. The big pass-catcher for Jesse Minter’s defense to watch out for is former Chargers star TE Hunter Henry. Henry is the most established option for Maye and he will be a big part of the Bolts’ gameplan against the Patriots. If Derwin James and the rest of this defense can stop Hunter Henry from getting open, Maye won’t have an easy time moving the chains.
Against this unit, RB Rhamondre Stevenson will be the guy to watch. The Bolts have struggled against the run to an extent and Rhamondre can expose that. His season-high in rushing yards this year is 120, and getting 100 on Saturday isn’t insane to say. With the cast around him, the Chargers could live with a big game from Rhamondre. However, they will need to make sure Stevenson doesn’t open up the field for Maye if he does get hot.
On defense, the guy to watch is Christian Gonzalez. The second-year Corner is having the breakout year everyone expected out of him in his rookie season, and he is already one of the top DBs in football. Gonzalez isn’t going to be a guy Herbert wants to throw near, and it will be a big hindrance to the Los Angeles passing game. Of course, The Bolts just succeeded against Patrick Surtain II who is one of the only guys at the position that most can confidently say is better than Gonzalez. Even if the Patriots can stop Justin Herbert from getting into a rhythm with the secondary, it may not matter.
Christian Gonzalez may not matter for this Chargers offense because they are getting much-needed help on the ground. Standout RB JK Dobbins will make his return to the field in New England on Saturday after being on IR for 4 weeks. This is huge news because RB2 Gus Edwards has been ruled out, and a run game with rookie Kimani Vidal as the every-down back would not be successful.
However, Vidal could find even more success now that he will get extended reps behind Dobbins. This could be the big news this offense needed after a few rough weeks of running the football. This unit is near full strength for the playoffs and is shaping up to be a team no division winner wants to face on Wild Card Weekend.
At this point in the season, the Playoffs are a big factor. The Bolts are currently the 6th seed in the AFC and are set to face off against the Ravens once again in Baltimore. Things could change, but this isn’t the team the Chargers would like to play. First off, anything is better than traveling to Buffalo in January to play the Bills. However, playing the other MVP candidate Lamar Jackson still isn’t ideal. Two scenarios could get the Chargers more favorable matchups.
One would be the Steelers losing in week 18 and the Chargers winning out to get a game against CJ Stroud and the struggling Texans. Houston is the squad every Wild Card team is hoping to get, and the Bolts getting it would be like winning the lottery. The other scenario is Pittsburgh winning their last game while Baltimore loses, giving the Steelers the AFC North. In this scenario, the Chargers could stay at the sixth seed and still get a very winnable game.
Yes, they lost to the Steelers this season, but that game could’ve easily gone their way, and the Chargers could easily take the rematch if it were to happen. A Baltimore rematch wouldn’t be ideal, but it wouldn’t be as detrimental to the Chargers’ hopes as a Bills matchup would be.