Devin McCourty Believes Chargers Tanked Week 18, ‘Wanted’ Patriots Playoff Matchup

Many Patriots fans are pleased that New England landed the Los Angeles Chargers as a first-round playoff opponent instead of the Buffalo Bills, Houston Texans or Jacksonville Jaguars. And the Patriots themselves probably feel the same way.

But how do the Chargers feel?

Los Angeles entered its Week 18 road matchup with the Denver Broncos with nothing to play for other than wild-card seeding. As a result, the Chargers sat star quarterback Justin Herbert and other top starters, eventually losing 19-3 behind backup quarterback Trey Lance and securing a wild-card game in New England.

However, Devin McCourty believes there were ulterior motives behind protecting Herbert, who’s taken a beating this season behind a patchwork offensive line.

“I think the Chargers not playing their guys today, I think they wanted to go to New England and play against this Patriots team,” McCourty said during NBC’s “Sunday Night Football” broadcast. “The Patriots don’t have a great pass rush, the Chargers are a little weak up front, I think they like that matchup.”

.@devinmccourty talking Pats-Chargers during halftime of SNF:

"I think the Chargers not playing their guys today, I think they wanted to go to New England and play against this Patriots team. The Patriots don't have a great pass rush, the Chargers are a little weak up front, I… pic.twitter.com/3Fa9IRyr0t

— Follow: @ThrowbackPATS (@ThrowbackPATS) January 5, 2026

Only the Chargers know whether they tanked Week 18 to land a playoff game against the Patriots. But McCourty’s theory makes sense.

With star tackles Joe Alt and Rashawn Slater out for most of the season, Los Angeles’ offensive line allowed Herbert to be sacked 54 times this season, good for third-most in the NFL. The Chargers’ best chance at winning in the postseason is to keep Herbert upright and avoid too many negative plays.

Meanwhile, the Patriots have a bottom-10 pass rush (seventh-fewest sacks in the league) and struggle to generate pressure from the edge, allowing opposing lines to focus on Milton Williams and Christian Barmore. Edge rusher K’Lavon Chaisson (7.5 sacks) enjoyed a solid season, but Harold Landry cratered down the stretch while nursing multiple injuries.

The Patriots might be the best all-around team in the AFC, but the Chargers arguably stand a better chance against New England’s pass rush than those of the Jaguars, Denver Broncos and Pittsburgh Steelers.

Nevertheless, the Patriots, when healthy, have enough talent on defense to create problems for Herbert and the Chargers. We’ll see what happens this Sunday when New England and Los Angeles kick off from Gillette Stadium at 8 p.m. ET.