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Patriots’ ‘big dogs’ on defense shredded Chargers en route to a playoff victory
“He started the week by saying, ‘Big dogs show up in January.’ And I was just preaching that to our group all week."
FOXBOROUGH — Mike Vrabel’s message to Milton Williams, Christian Barmore and the rest of New England’s big bodies on defense was clear in the days leading up to their postseason opener against the Chargers on Sunday night.
“He started the week by saying, ‘Big dogs show up in January’. And I was just preaching that to our group all week,” Williams said of Vrabel. “It’s on us. I’ve been saying that all season though. We control the game. If we do what we do [up] front, we’re going to win.”
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Sunday’s wild-card matchup against Los Angeles marked the first playoff game for several key players on New England’s defense.
But Williams is no stranger to the stakes that present themselves in January and February — playing a key role on a relentless Eagles front-seven that made Patrick Mahomes’ life miserable last season in Super Bowl LIX.
And matched up a porous Chargers offense line on Sunday, Williams and the Patriots defense feasted all night against opposing QB Justin Herbert.
In a game where Drake Maye and New England’s offense weren’t operating at their best, their best wasn’t needed in what stood as a masterclass showing from New England’s defensive unit.
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After recording 35 sacks though 17 regular-season games, New England sacked Herbert six times in Sunday’s 16-3 win — limiting the gifted signal-caller to just 19 completions for 159 total yards.
According to Pro Football Focus, New England generated a whopping 30 pressures against a Chargers O-line that coughed up 54 sacks against Herbert during regular-season action, with Los Angeles going just 1-for-10 on third-down plays in its season-ending loss.
Per Opta Stats, the Patriots’ defense allowed zero touchdowns, posted at least six sacks, allowed under 100 rushing yards (87 total), and gave up under 150 net passing yards on Sunday against Los Angeles.
The only other team in the Super Bowl era to accomplish all four of those things in a single playoff game was the legendary 1985 Chicago Bears defense in a win over the Giants.
“We talked to them about being willing to spill some blood out there, that the big dogs come out in January. I think Milt took that to heart in the way that he played the game, in the way he finished the game,” Mike Vrabel said of Williams, who finished with two sacks in the win.
New England’s pass-rushing performance helped force Los Angeles’ lone turnover of the game, with K’Lavon Chaisson strip-sacking Herbert in the fourth quarter on a sequence that all but sealed the win after Christian Elliss scooped up the loose ball.
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“Just violence and aggression,” Chaisson said of New England’s pass-rushing efforts. “Just who wants it more, and that is all this game was about. We knew we had opportunities. Shout out to the defensive backs and the back seven, just giving us a couple extra seconds to get to the quarterback.”
Granted, New England doling out plenty of punishment against Herbert wasn’t necessarily much of a surprise — considering how dreadful Los Angeles’ offensive line has been all season long.
What was a positive development was New England’s sturdy play in the red zone.
After ranking 27th in the NFL in red-zone defense during the regular season, the Patriots defense stepped up on Sunday against Los Angeles — limiting the Chargers to just three points off of their two drives that crossed within the 20-yard line.
Their first red-zone stop prevented Los Angeles from seizing momentum in the first quarter, with the Chargers smelling blood in the water after a tipped pass from Maye was intercepted — giving Herbert and Co. a 1st-and-goal from the 10-yard line.
But New England didn’t budge.
After Marcus Jones made a great tackle on Herbert as he tried to scramble into the end zone to force a 4th-and-2 play, Herbert’s throw to Keenan Allen was ruled incomplete after New England dialed up a blitz.
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“Look at Marcus Jones’ tackle on a [6-foot-6] quarterback who’s running downhill on the two-yard line,” Robert Spillane said postgame. “For him to be able to get him down on the ground — such a huge play that ultimately changes the game for us.”
New England will need sharper execution from Maye and the Patriots’ offense moving forward against either the Texans or Steelers in the divisional round.
But if the Patriots defense keeps playing at this level, Maye may not need to operate at an MVP level for this team to go on a legitimate championship run.
“You look back at how our season started — it started in Miami [in Week 2] with Milton Williams’ game-winning sack,” Spillane said. “So for us to be able to be in the playoffs, and him to come up with a huge play like that — I’m going to just go tell him, ‘We’re going to need more of that. So everything that you’ve given us, just give us some more.’ And I know he will.”
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