Justin Herbert and the Chargers are on the road to face Drake Maye and the 3-12 Patriots in hopes of clinching their spot in the playoffs.
Kickoff between the Chargers (9-6) and Patriots (3-12) is right around the corner.
The Chargers can clinch a playoff spot today with one of two outcomes. The easiest obviously being a win today, but should they for whatever reason come up short, they can still clinch if both the Colts and Dolphins lose/tie in Week 17.
Today’s matchup features a pair of sizable quarterbacks in stature, both of whom wear the number 10. The one that plays for the Chargers is already a face of the franchise and a well-established starter in this league while the other is still hoping to follow anything close to a similar career path as he looks to turn around the current prospects of a struggling New England franchise.
Despite both passers possessing plenty of arm, this cold-weather game could feature a heavy dose of the running backs in J.K. Dobbins for the Chargers and Rhamondre Stevenson for the Patriots, both of whom will be relied upon to shorten this game.
For a complete quarter-by-quarter recap of today’s game, check it out below.
First Quarter
The Patriots won the toss and chose to defer. The Chargers offense was up first.
The effects of the dreary weather were felt from the very start for the Bolts. After Quentin Johnston snagged a third-down pass to convert the offense’s initial first down of the game, he followed it with a drop right through his hands on the next play. After a six-yard rush by Kimani Vidal on second down, it was Ladd McConkey’s turn to let a ball slip through his grasp as he couldn’t haul in what would have been another first-down conversion.
New England’s offense couldn’t get rolling early as the Chargers defense forced a three-and-out after quarterback Drake Maye was decked short of the sticks near the sideline. Cornerback Cam Hart landed a blow near Maye’s head and the rookie was slow to get up from the turf. Eventually, he was guided into the blue medical tent for further testing.
The Chargers once again started inside their own 10-yard line at the nine after the latest Patriots punt. Herbert then guided them on a lengthy 11-play drive that ended in a spectacular touchdown grab by wide receiver/return man Derius Davis. The second-year man out of TCU snagged the ball high over his shoulder and somehow managed to secure the ball just before hitting the turf. It was Davis’ second touchdown in the past two games after failing to find the end zone before Week 16’s matchup with the Broncos.
With a little over two minutes in the quarter, the Chargers led 7-0.
Backup Jacoby Brissett came in to start the second drive of the game for the Patriots but the unit still looked lifeless as they recorded a second consecutive three-and-out.
Second Quarter
The Chargers once again made their way into the Patriots red zone on their third drive of the game. They took another good chunk time off the clock with a 12-play, 67-yard sequence that unfortunately stalled at the nine-yard line when Joshua Palmer was tackled short of the sticks on third down by Patriots safety Marte Mapu. Cameron Dicker was good from 27 yards to extend the Chargers’ lead to 10-0.
Drake Maye returned for the Patriots offense and got the offense moving with a nine-yard scramble on first down. Rookie linebacker Junior Colson landed on Maye during his slide attempt which drew a 15-yard penalty.
A few plays later, Kristian Fulton was called for defensive pass interference which gave New England another automatic first down on a second-and-24 play.
Two plays later, the Patriots attempted a bit of trickery but a handoff in the backfield went awry and the lost fumble wound up in the arms of Derwin James who recovered inside Patriots territory. The Chargers capitalized on the sudden change situation, going 44 yards in nine plays with Ladd McConkey catching a six-yard touchdown pass to give the Bolts a 17-0 with just under three minutes remaining in the half.
As for a few individual accolades achieved on that drive, Ladd McConkey crossed over the 1,000-yard threshold for the season to become just the third Chargers rookie to do it, joining Keenan Allen in 2013 (1,046) and John Jefferson in 1978 (1,001). McConkey also broke the Chargers rookie record for receptions, passing Allen with his 72nd catch of the season.
Herbert also now sits atop the list for the most passing yards through a players first five seasons, passing Peyton Manning’s 20,618.
Near the end of the half, the Patriots offense finally began to show some life. Maye utilized his legs to convert two different first downs to keep the drive alive for New England before making a very heads-up play. After Bud Dupree jumped the snap, Maye simply chucked the ball towards the end zone and Demario Douglas was the only player seemingly aware of where it was going. The wideout stopped his momentum and managed to dive under the ball at the one-yard line and roll untouched into the end zone. The score minimized the Chargers’ lead to 17-7.
With 1:24 on the clock, the Chargers moved the ball well backed by two timeouts left in the bag. Herbert guided them into enemy territory and even converted a fourth down to tight end Stone Smartt which was only compounded by a late hit from a Patriots defender. Dicker came on and just narrowly made a 38-yard field goal to give the Bolts a 20-7 lead at the half.
Third Quarter
The Chargers defense didn’t miss a beat coming out of halftime as they held the Patriots to another three-and-out aided by a holding call on New England. On the Patriots punt, Derius Davis looked to have juked and evaded his way through the coverage for a 93-yard touchdown return, but a pair of Chargers were called for penalties, including an accepted holding call on Ja’Sir Taylor.
With the ball at the six-yard line, the Chargers went 94 yards in 10 plays capped off by Ladd McConkey running past the Patriots secondary for a 40-yard touchdown to notch his second trip to the end zone on the day. The long reception also broke Keenan Allen’s rookie receiving record of 1,046 yards as it pushed McConkey’s total to 1,054 on the year.
After forcing a quick turnover on downs, the Chargers tacked on another Dicker field goal to bring their lead to 30-7.
Late in the quarter, Derwin James recorded his second sack of the day to set a new career high of 5.5 sacks, breaking his previous high of four set in 2022. On the ensuing Chargers drive, J.K. Dobbins broke off a chunk surpass his previous career high of 805 rushing yards set during his rookie season in 2020.
Fourth Quarter