Patriots Shine in First Playoff Win Since 2018

Zak Drapeau
4 hours ago
3 min read

by Zak Drapeau 1/12/2026

Sportz Nation

Photo by Greg M. Cooper/ Associated Press via Masslive.com

Game Summary

The Patriots defense played one of their best games all season as New England outclassed the Los Angeles Chargers to a 16-3 home victory. The name of the game for both sides was defense as the Pats themselves wouldn't score a touchdown until the 4th Quarter.

The game was a chess match through and through with the real deciding factor being the Patriots' special teams, led by Kicker Andy Borregales and returner Marcus Jones, who had some good returns and some key tackles in the game.

The game would start slow but have a key moment at the end of the 1st Quarter. With less than 3 minutes left, Drake Maye would throw an errant ball to the middle of the field that would be tipped and intercepted after a jostle for the football landed in LB Daiyan Henley's hand. Following the turnover, the Chargers would have the ball on the New England 14-yard line but fail to get in the end zone on 4 plays, giving the ball back to the Pats along with momentum as Gillette Stadium roared.

This would be proceeded by the Patriots breaking the deadlock with a 93-yard drive capped with a field goal and then a similar drive from the Chargers would bring the game to a tie once more.

The Pats' would have two more strong drives before the half concluded, the first of which would end with a Drake Maye fumble as the pocket collapsed on him while in Charger territory. The second would result in another field goal after Maye led his team on a 37-yard drive to the 17-yard line with only 2 seconds left.

As the second half started with a 6-3 Patriots' lead and the Chargers receiving the second half kickoff, the game noticeably intensified. Both defenses would carry on as the Pats' didn't let Justin Herbert and crew get anything going while the Chargers' would get their 3rd turnover of the game as Drake Maye would fumble again. With both teams being thwarted early on, as the Pats got the ball again they would grab a 3rd field goal of the game.

As the 4th Quarter started, the Patriots would finally finish off a drive well as Drake Maye threw a perfect ball to his safety net Hunter Henry, for a 28-yard strike.

The rest of the game would continue as it started with both defenses staying solid including 3 sacks and a fumble recovery by New England.

3 Stars of the Game

As mentioned earlier, Andy Borregales is deserving of one of the stars from last night, scoring 10 of the Pats' 16 points. With Drake Maye and the Patriots either stalling or turning the ball over until the 4th Quarter, Borregales was the difference in the game. His field goals would land from 23, 35 and 39 respectively on his way to going 3-for-3 on the game.

Another star had to be Marcus Jones, who had several punt returns in the game, several key tackles including a Touchdown-saver of Justin Herbert at the 2-yard line and a strip sack in the 4th Quarter that the Chargers luckily recovered. Jones' strip sack may have been a positive play for the Chargers as Kimani Vidal's heads up play would move the chains. What it does is show how Jones was EVERYWHERE this game.

With several different D-lineman having great games, I'm going to name the third star of the game as the entire Defensive Line. In total, Justin Herbert would go down 6 times with Milton Williams and K'Lavon Chiasson, Marcus Jones and Anfernee Jennings all getting home.

Looking Ahead

The Patriots will now await the winner of the Steelers-Texans game tonight as the winner will be their next opponent. The Divisional round matchup will be in New England thanks to their #2 seed and will oppose the other divisional matchup between the Bills and Broncos in Denver.