Divisional Round 2019: Los Angeles @ New England Patriots
- FootballNewsLeague
- Jan 10, 2019
- 5 min read
The Patriots have a very tough test against this hot L.A. Chargers team despite being 4-point favorites. They need to find a way to slow down the Chargers defensive front if they want to generate and maintain a good offensive rhythm. If the offensive line can do that, then Pats QB Tom Brady can sling it to his playmakers. The last time New England faced the Chargers, which was in the 2017 season, the team did a mediocre job of that. Tom Brady was sacked three times. Although they actually were fairly productive in between the 20’s, they only went 1 for 4 in the red zone. Brady threw over 4000 yards again this season, and the offense was still very lackluster in the beginning and all throughout the season. Brady, without help, still broke records including surpassing Hall of Famer QB Peyton Manning for most career yards, regular season wins, most passing touchdowns including postseason (not regular season), and reaching 1000 career rushing yards. He did have help in Wide Receiver Josh Gordon, but he left the team prior to week 16 due to a looming suspension. Brady’s true number one, WR Julian Edelman, has not been himself this season. He dealt with a suspension for four weeks and it showed in this offense earlier this year when they started 2-2. Injuries had plagued them all throughout the season like Tight End Rob Gronkowski and Running Backs Rex Burkhead and Sony Michel. Even now TE Jacob Hollister is going to the injured reserve this week.
RBs Sony Michel, James White, and Burkhead should be a problem for this defense. The Chargers are all around good on defense, but are very suspect against running backs (like the three I listed) that can go out and be receivers out the backfield. The Chargers allowed the most receiving yards (973) to running backs in the NFL during the season. The Patriots could get those players the ball to pick up big chunks of yards to wear down this defense and open up the rest of the offense. They had a field day against the Jets in Week 17 and can keep the momentum rolling against the Chargers. As far as the defense for the Patriots goes, they have been a very well coached. A "bend but don't break" group. However, they have been absolutely atrocious against teams between the 20 yard lines, but top 10 in the red zone while giving up the ninth least touchdowns this season. The Patriots are getting hot on the offensive side of the ball with only 8 turnovers in the last three games. They do have a few Pro Bowl caliber players such as: Cornerback Jason McCourty and Saftey Devin McCourty (twin brothers) and Cornerback Stephon Gilmore in the secondary locking down top receivers all season, but giving up yards to the second and third wide receivers. Gilmore has had a tremendous year deflecting twenty passes and having two interceptions, he also made first team all-pro for the first time in his career. Gilmore and this secondary will need to be at their very best to contain these explosive wide receivers the Chargers have. The key to winning is to keep being the Patriots and utilizing their passing backs to give this defense trouble.
Kings of the Postseason
The Patriots and Head Coach Bill Belichick coming off a bye week, whether its in season or playoffs, is near flawless. They have also secured their ninth consecutive first round bye (NFL record), and they’re 11-1 with a first round bye since 2001. The Patriots also have won their last 13 games in Foxborough.
One positive trend that the Chargers are backed by is a record near perfect as a “road” team. The Chargers went 7-1 in the regular season in away games, with their one loss coming early in the season against the crosstown LA Rams. When adding their Wild Card round upset against the Ravens on Sunday in Baltimore and their Week 7 win against the Titans in London, it makes them 9-0 outside of LA. One potential problem for the Chargers and their success away from home is that in the regular season, the Patriots went 8-0 in Foxborough. The Chargers are looking to keep up their success on the road in Gillette stadium.
The Chargers looked a little lackluster against the Ravens top notch defense. QB Philip Rivers didn’t throw a touchdown despite being in the Ravens territory almost every drive. The offensive line did an amazing job this game keeping Rivers up by letting the Ravens have only one sack, and opening a hole for the only touchdown that RB Melvin Gordon ran in at the 1 yard line. On the defensive side, the Chargers were outstanding. Safety/Linebacker Adrian Phillips and Defensive Ends Melvin Ingram and Joey Bosa all had big impact plays to turn the ball over or to stop drives from continuing. If this team continues to get hotter this postseason, they’ll be unstoppable.
They’re now officially getting starter TE Hunter Henry back, which is amazing news considering Virgil Green didn't do much except fumble. This offense needs to get out to a lead and keep the Patriots from the ball. RB Melvin Gordon might have to take the reigns and be the offensive MVP to get passed the Patriots. If they keep Tom Brady off the field as long as possible, they'll have a great chance to win this game. However he is still dealing with a knee injury that he sustained against the Ravens, and if it is still lingering, Phillip Rivers is going to have to throw more to his weapons.
Rivers has yet to throw a touchdown against the Patriots in the playoffs and is looking to throw that statistic out the window. The last time they faced off in the playoffs was in 2008, and he played on a torn ACL (what a man). Ultimately, if Gordon and Rivers do more than enough to keep afloat, and the studs on Defense (like Joey Bosa, Melvin Ingram, and Derwin James) have terrific games again, the Chargers can take care of the Patriots and advance. They have playmakers all over this defense that can pressure the offensive line and cover the aging receivers the Patriots have.
For the third phase of the team, the special teams has been one of the top with Cornerback Desmond King returning kicks/punts, and Kicker Michael “Money Badger” Badgley. The Chargers have finally found their kicker after several years of missing kicks and losing for it. The keys for the Chargers are to 1) finish drives 2) keep pressure up front on Brady and 3) keep the offense going.
Final Verdict:
Josh Alvarez: That’s why I am rolling with the Chargers to win this game with their very stout defense. They should be able to pressure Brady and cause enough disruption for a turnover or two.
Fun fact: Phillip Rivers is 4-0 in the wildcard round. He also hit 16.1 mph on a his long scramble for a first down.
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