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The Los Angeles Chargers struggled all night long as they fell to the New England Patriots 16-3 on Sunday night.
Justin Herbert had several opportunities to hit big plays in the passing game, but unfortunately, he really wasn’t able to get anything going, which resulted in the offense stalling for most of the game.
Herbert ended the night with 120 net yards after being sacked six times and fumbling twice. There was nothing going on in the pass game, and the receivers were not able to take advantage of the man coverage the Patriots played with their blitzes.
Ladd McConkey and Orande Gadsden were the only receiving threats to get at least 30 yards. McConkey had 32 yards on three catches, and Gadsden had 30 yards on three receptions. In playoff games like this, you need guys to win one-on-ones, but LA did not have that when they needed it most.
The offensive line couldn’t create gaps in the run game either. Los Angeles ran it for 87 yards on 22 rushes with an average of 4.0 yards per carry. Herbert did his best to extend plays and accounted for 57 yards on 10 carries, showcasing that without him, there was really no ability to run the football.
The offense, since Herbert has been there, has significantly underperformed in the playoffs, and at a certain point, we need to figure out what goes wrong in the big moments.
Herbert got a golden opportunity early, starting on the Patriots’ 10-yard line, but came away with no points after a turnover on downs. These are the chances you cannot let slip away in the playoffs.
On the defensive side, they did a great job forcing an early Drake Maye interception as well as forcing two more fumbles and recovering one of them to take points off the board in the red zone. Overall, in the red area, the Chargers held New England to 0/3 and three field goals, which is an amazing defensive performance.
Overall, LA allowed 235 net yards, one touchdown, the interception, and sacked Maye five times. The pass defense really showed up and made things very difficult for Maye and the Patriots, but it did allow some explosive plays.
Rhamondre Stevenson had three catches for 75 yards, including a massive 48-yard reception that flipped the field position completely and helped to settle Maye in. Kayshon Bouttee added four catches for 66 yards, and Hunter Henry contributed three receptions for 64 yards and the lone touchdown. These three really provided matchup problems for Los Angeles all night.
On the ground, there were some problems as well. The Chargers allowed 29 attempts for 146 yards and 5.0 yards per carry. Maye did a great job scrambling and extending plays with 10 rushes for 66 yards, and Stevenson added 10 carries for 53 yards. New England, when they needed to, was able to establish their identity and close out yet another home playoff win for New England several years after their last.
The defense did all they could, but in the end, without really anything from the offense, they ran out of juice, which was enough to end their season.
When you look at the Chargers’ season as a whole, it really came down to the health of their team, especially their offensive line.
They have two of the best offensive tackles in the NFL in Rashawn Salter and Joe Alt, but they were both injured very early in the season. This is something that is so frustrating because they have the talent on the roster; it just needs to get on the field.
Zion Johnson played a decent year, but Mekhi Becton and Bradley Bozeman were undoubtedly two of the worst players at their positions, and that is something that must be addressed either in the draft or free agency.
Additionally, Justin Herbert did have better protection on Saturday, but still was not able to perform well. He missed several throws that he could have put more pressure on the Patriots’ defense, but he was unable to do so.
On the outside, LA needs guys that can win for Herbert, especially in a game that was as tight as this one was. McConkey really could have dominated, but didn’t take over. Keenan Allen, as a veteran, could have helped out, but really didn’t show up, and Quentin Johnston again needs to prove why he was a first-round pick. The playoffs reveal weaknesses, and clearly, the whole team does underperform in the biggest moments.
On the ground, Omarion Hampton was injured and unable to play in this game, but with the lanes, it doesn’t seem that would have made much of a difference anyway.
In the future, they must establish a dominant run game to take the game off the shoulders of Herbert completely. Kimani Vidal is a good rotational back, but he is not a franchise back, so with Hampton, they need to figure out if he is that or if they may need to draft another one.
Defensively, the front of LA did a great job, and really, there were not many holes for them. For the future, as far as the front goes, the only thing they would really need is depth among the interior as well as a guy to push the pocket in the pass game to allow Khalil Mack and Tuli Tuipulotu to get after the quarterback and flush him out to them.
In the back end, they may need to get some more ball hawks and coverage stallworths so that they can be more flexible with their coverage. During the season, they were very reliant on zone coverage, which does leave you vulnerable to veteran players who know how to sit and find the space in the zones.
The defense as a unit had a great year and did an amazing job defending the pass and did a good job defending the run. The main takeaway is they need more help on the interior to create a pass rush, as far as depth goes, and some players on the backend to create takeaways and be more flexible to be able to play more man coverage when necessary to open up diverse blitz packages.
This season really came down to health for the Chargers' offense and the lack of ability to make plays in the biggest moments. That is what separates the good teams from the great teams, so LA needs to look themselves in the mirror and figure out what that means for them moving forward.
Priority number one is clearly getting the tackles healthy and fixing the interior of that offensive line to protect their franchise quarterback.
Bolts fans, there is hope, and the future is bright. Unfortunately, injuries can derail potential years of contention, and that is what took place this year. Do not be discouraged, you will be back!
Bolt up, Chargers fans, and get ready for a great 2026 season.
