With the New England Patriots and Los Angeles Chargers set to square off Sunday in the divisional round of the NFL playoffs, now seems like a good time to reexamine the teams’ last meeting, which came in Week 8 of the 2017 season.
What lessons can be learned from that game, which the Patriots won 21-13 at Gillette Stadium? Let’s dive in:
— For starters, there have been some significant personnel changes on both sides.
Malcolm Butler, Johnson Bademosi, Jordan Richards, David Harris and Alan Branch all started on defense for the Patriots in that game, with Stephon Gilmore, Dont’a Hightower and Malcom Brown sitting out due to injury and the likes of J.C. Jackson, Jason McCourty, Danny Shelton, John Simon and Adrian Clayborn not arriving in New England until the following offseason.
On offense, the Patriots had Brandin Cooks, Danny Amendola and Dion Lewis instead of Julian Edelman, Cordarrelle Patterson and Sony Michel, and Nate Solder had yet to be replaced by current left tackle Trent Brown.
The Chargers have experienced less turnover. Nearly their entire offense remains intact, with even tight end Hunter Henry, who missed the entire regular season with a torn ACL, set to return to action Sunday.
LA’s defense has undergone a few alterations, though, with linebacker Jatavis Brown and defensive tackle Corey Liuget both landing on injured reserve. Linebacker Denzel Perryman, who didn’t play against the Pats last season, also is on IR.
This lack of ‘backer depth has prompted the Chargers, who already used a great deal of dime personnel, to go even lighter at the second level. After Brown was lost for the season in Week 17, L.A. deployed seven defensive backs on nearly every play in its wild-card round win over the Baltimore Ravens, with inside linebackers Hayes Pullard and Kyle Emmanuel playing just one defensive snap apiece.
We’ll find out Sunday whether this quarter package was a one-off game plan to stop mobile Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson or a tactic the Chargers will utilize again moving forward. They certainly have a deep, talented and versatile secondary, with slot corner Desmond King and rookie safety sensation Derwin James both earning spots on the All-Pro first team this season.
King and James, the latter of whom will be facing the Patriots for the first time, could match up against Edelman and Rob Gronkowski, respectively.
— Patriots quarterback Tom Brady had tremendous success throwing to his running backs in this game, going a nearly flawless 14-for-15 for 163 yards (10.4 per attempt) when targeting James White, Rex Burkhead or Lewis.
White (five catches, 85 yards) and Burkhead (seven catches, 68 yards) were New England’s leading receivers, often finding themselves open in the flat for easy catch-and-run opportunities.
What are the chances of a similar scenario playing out Sunday? Pretty high.
Coordinator Gus Bradley’s defense allowed 973 receiving yards to running backs during the regular season, which, as Kevin Duffy of the Boston Herald noted, was the second-worst mark by any team in the last decade.
Pass-catching Patriots backs also tore up Bradley-coached or -inspired defenses in Super Bowls XLIX and LI, with Shane Vereen catching 11 passes on 12 targets for 64 yards against the Seattle Seahawks and White racking up 14 catches on 16 targets for 110 yards and a touchdown against the Atlanta Falcons.
New England ranks first in passes thrown to running backs this season and second in receiving yards by backs. L.A. also ranks highly on both of those lists (fifth and first, respectively), with Melvin Gordon and Austin Ekeler combining for 894 receiving yards.
Neither Gordon nor Ekeler made a significant impact in the passing game against the Patriots last season, however (two combined catches for 20 yards), and both have dealt with injuries in recent weeks and might not be operating at 100 percent Sunday.
— One of the most difficult aspects of facing the Chargers is finding a way to block both Joey Bosa and Melvin Ingram, their two superstar defensive ends.
Fail to stop one of them, and you could be in for a long day. Just ask the Ravens, who allowed three sacks to the duo in their wild-card loss.
Bill Belichick explained earlier this week how the Chargers sometimes like to bump Ingram — or, to a lesser extent, Bosa — inside in obvious passing situations, and the Patriots saw some of that last October. On eight of New England’s 19 third downs, Ingram transitioned from edge rusher to roving linebacker, lining up either over the guard or outside of Bosa.
Ingram and Bosa rushing from the same side is a scary proposition, but the Patriots actually thrived against these types of fronts. On those eight third downs, Brady completed six passes for 76 yards — including four to White — moving the chains five times.
Overall, Ingram and Bosa registered an impressive 17 total pressures, according to Pro Football Focus, but managed just one sack (by Bosa) and one QB hit (by Ingram). That’s a win for New England.
Solder allowed a team-high seven pressures in the game, with right tackles Marcus Cannon and LaAdrian Waddle combining to allow another seven. Brady helped his O-line by consistently getting the ball out quickly.
— One matchup to watch for this Sunday is All-Pro Patriots cornerback Gilmore vs. Pro Bowl Chargers receiver Keenan Allen.
Allen, who’s tallied more than 2,500 receiving yards over the last two season, had one of his least productive games of 2017 against the Patriots, finishing with four catches on five targets for 61 yards.
In fact, no Chargers receiver was particularly impressive. Tyrell Williams had one catch on six targets for 11 yards, Mike Williams caught one pass on two targets for 7 yards, and Travis Benjamin led the way with five catches on nine targets for 64 yards and a touchdown (plus an embarrassing safety on a punt return).
Quarterback Philip Rivers completed 17 of 30 passes for 212 yards and one touchdown with one interception.
The Patriots undoubtedly are better at the cornerback position this season, with Gilmore — who, remember, didn’t play in this game — establishing himself as one of the league’s premier cover men and undrafted rookie Jackson looking like a star in the making.
