FOXBORO, Mass. — The vibes were high heading into game time.
Primetime. 8:15 P.M. kick-off. A chilly New England night. The Patriots were hours away from their first playoff game since the 2021 season.
It felt different this time, though. Led by former Patriots linebacker-turned-head coach Mike Vrabel, these Patriots finished 14-3 following back-to-back 4-win seasons. They ripped off 10 consecutive wins in the middle of the season. They were 8-0 on the road. 4-0 in primetime.
Early on, it felt like we’d been duped - after a Drake Maye pass was tipped into the air, and right into the hands of a Chargers defender. It felt like these Patriots might actually be what many believed they were after a soft schedule – a pack of frauds who beat up on bad teams.
But then, the momentum swung right back. The Chargers didn’t capitalize on the mistake. They didn’t take the ball a measly 10 yards for a touchdown. Instead, the Patriots’ defense stopped them on four plays, forcing a turnover on downs and getting the ball right back.
It was a sign of things to come for the remaining 50 minutes.
The Patriots bullied Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert. The walls truly came closing in during the second half. The Patriots sacked him 6 times when it was all said and done. K’Lavon Chaisson and Milton Williams had 2 each. Anfernee Jennings and Marcus Jones had the other 2.
Up 16-3 with 5:39 to go in the game, it still felt tight, though. A Chargers touchdown would have put them right back in it. This was when the wheels really fell off for the Bolts.
They needed to score, and they needed to do it fast. They no-huddled in what would end up being a 14-play drive. Still, it took time. The Chargers often substituted in between plays. Which, by rule, allowed the Patriots to do the same. The clock ran as the Patriots strategically jogged – at times walked - players on and off the field. The drive would eventually end with a turnover on downs in dramatic fashion – a sack from Milton Williams.
A 15-yard scamper from running back TreVeyon Henderson sealed it for the Patriots.
With the win, the Patriots got the monkey off their back. The monkey being a playoff win without Tom Brady at quarterback. At one time viewed as the possible future of the franchise, Mac Jones suited up in the team’s lone 2021 playoff game – just two seasons after Brady’s final year in New England. The Patriots were thrashed by the Bills, 47-17.
Several teams that once had an elite quarterback can’t seem to get that monkey off their back, including the Chargers.
Justin Herbert is now 0-3 in the playoffs since entering the league in 2020. The Chargers’ last playoff win came on the heels of the 2018 season with Bolt legend Philip Rivers under center. They were playing in San Diego then.
The same goes for the Denver Broncos. It could change this weekend, but for now, they haven’t won a playoff game since Peyton Manning was calling signals for their 2015 Super Bowl team. The team they beat, the Carolina Panthers and Cam Newton, haven’t won a playoff game since that same season.
Add the Colts to the list. Andrew Luck was taking snaps the last time Indianapolis won a playoff game. That was seven seasons ago.
The Saints are on the list, too. They’ve had no success in the postseason since Drew Brees’s final season in 2020. The Steelers, now losers of their last five playoff games, are on the list. Ben Roethlisberger collected the Steelers’ last playoff win back in January of 2017.
It’s hard to find the guy.
Dan Marino’s final season in the NFL was in 1999, and the Dolphins still haven’t come remotely close to having the guy since then. The Patriots, though, have found their guy. It wasn’t his best game – Drake Maye put the ball on the ground twice, and he was picked off. But he threw for 268 yards and ran for another 66. He got it done when it mattered. His lone touchdown pass was a 28-yard beauty to Hunter Henry in the 4th quarter.
Before last night, the Patriots’ last playoff win was over the Rams in Super Bowl LIII in February 2019.
Now, six seasons and 2,536 days later, the Patriots live to fight another week, and this Sunday will be at Gillette Stadium once again. This time, against the Houston Texans, with their guy under center, and a chance to punch a ticket to the AFC Championship.
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