Tom Brady and the New England Patriots will face their toughest challenge of the season Sunday when they welcome the Los Angeles Chargers to Gillette Stadium for an AFC divisional-round matchup.
L.A. advanced to the divisional round by defeating the No. 4 seed Baltimore Ravens 23-17 this past Sunday at M&T Bank Stadium.
While Los Angeles’ offense is loaded with playmakers, the Chargers’ defense will present the biggest challenge for the Patriots. Edge rushers Melvin Ingram and Joey Bosa can make life miserable for Brady, while cornerbacks Casey Hayward and Desmond King and safety Derwin James combine to form one of the more underrated secondaries in the NFL.
Brady, who will be playing in his 38th career playoff game Sunday, knows the challenge the Bolts present and how precise New England will need to be to advance to its eighth straight AFC Championship Game.
“We played them last year and we didn’t play particularly well,” Brady said Monday in his weekly interview with WEEI’s “Mut & Callahan.” “I think what’s challenging is it’s a very fundamentally sound defense. They don’t really give you any plays, they don’t void any zones, they put pressure on you with a great rush. And I think that’s the challenging part, is anytime they can rush four guys and force the ball out quickly, I mean, they are all reading the quarterback, they break on the ball, they force turnovers.
“Any sloppy play in the pass game results in a turnover, and this is not — you hold the ball for an extra tick of a second and it’s a strip sack by Ingram or Bosa, and I think it’s one of those games where we have to play on time, we have to stay ahead on down and distance, we have to play a great complementary game, and it’s got to be well-balanced and it’s a great test. I mean, we’ve earned the right to be playing in this weekend’s game, and we’ve got a great opportunity, and we’ve got to go out and have our best game of the year.”
With the weather forecast predicting snow and the Chargers facing another 10 a.m. West Coast kickoff, the advantage appears to be with Patriots. But don’t tell Philip Rivers and the Bolts that, as Los Angeles won’t be intimidated by facing one of the NFL’s greatest dynasties.
