FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Patriots coach Mike Vrabel left his team’s 16-3 wild-card playoff victory over the Los Angeles Chargers with his face literally bloodied, but an unshaken confidence in his team.
He’s optimistic because although there were some shortcomings by an offense that has sustained his team this season, he believes the Patriots played with a physicality on defense that has arrived at the perfect time.
New England limited the Chargers to 207 total yards, the ninth time this season it held an opponent to fewer than 300. The Patriots’ six sacks tied for the second most in franchise playoff history.
“Everybody played. Everybody contributed,” Vrabel said. “Guys went down. Other guys went in there and stepped up. We play a lot of guys on defense. I think they all appreciate that. I think they all have roles.”
Defensive tackle Milton Williams said the Patriots’ success is a function of them not making things too complicated.
“We have been doing this all our lives. Keep it simple. We do not need any superhero, superhuman effort from anybody,” Williams said. “Just go out there and do your job and be where you are supposed to be. The rest is going to take care of itself.”
Next up is the Patriots’ first trip to the divisional round since their run to the franchise’s sixth Super Bowl title in the 2018 season.
“There has been legacy here for a minute, and we are trying to get our own,” safety Marcus Jones said.
After an uneven performance in the regular-season finale, a win over Miami, New England’s defense was playoff-ready, putting pressure on Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert while keeping his wide receivers bottled up most of the night.
The Chargers, who led the NFL this season with 115 third-down conversions, went 1 of 10 on third down.
New England’s offense was 4 of 11 on third down and 0 for 3 in the red zone against the Chargers. Those rates will need to improve if the Patriots want to advance to the AFC championship game.
In his second game back from a five-game stint on injured reserve with an ankle injury, Williams played some of his best football of the season. His two sacks tied his career playoff high, which he set in last season’s Super Bowl win while playing for Philadelphia.
Patriots left guard Jared Wilson, who missed the last two games while in the concussion protocol, struggled in his first game back. He gave up two of the five sacks and four of the five hurries allowed by the Patriots.
Vrabel said cornerback Christian Gonzalez was not allowed to reenter the game after leaving with a head injury and has since been placed in the concussion protocol.
“Wherever that goes, that goes,” Vrabel said. “Hopefully we’ll get him back.”
