Belichick breaks down what went right for Pats against Chargers

New England Patriots

The Chargers fell behind early and couldn’t muster enough offense to match the Patriots.

Bill Belichick had a hunch that things would be difficult for the Chargers if they had to play from behind against the Patriots during last Sunday’s NFL wild-card matchup.

He mentioned the Chargers’ offensive line woes after losing tackles Rashawn Slater and Joe Alt to season-ending injuries, along with Justin Herbert’s injured hands as reasons why a Los Angeles comeback would have been difficult.

Drake Maye and the Patriots’ offense were far from their best on Sunday, scoring just one touchdown late in the fourth quarter. But, the Patriots built an early lead with three field-goals from Andy Borregales never gave it up.

Now that the game is in the books, Belichick offered his thoughts on it during a recent episode of the podcast “Let’s Go!”

“I thought that the Chargers would have trouble if they had to play from behind,” Belichick said. “They were never able really to get ahead and to have control of the game. And once it became a two score game and the passes increased and the pressure increased, that just didn’t bode well for the Chargers.”

Maye gave the Chargers the ball in their own red-zone during the first quarter when a pass was tipped and eventually intercepted. With first-and-goal on the ten, the Chargers needed just ten yards to punch the ball in for a touchdown. They came up short, gaining just eight.

“They had a great opportunity early in the game, didn’t hit it on fourth down, then got the ball on a turnover inside the 10-yard line, couldn’t capitalize on that,” Belichick said. “Those were kind of their chances to get some points and kind of flip the script and force the Patriots to play from behind. But they were never able to do that.”

The Patriots wore the Chargers down, and Maye broke the game open with a touchdown pass to Hunter Henry in the fourth. Herbert was under pressure all night, and the Patriots’ pass-rush produced six sacks.

“Once the Patriots played from ahead, and I’d say in the second half, you know, Josh [McDaniels] really got the offense on track and they were more consistent moving the ball,” Belichick said. “And then, defensively the Patriots played from ahead and they played well with their pass rush and put a lot of pressure on Herbert, which is an issue that the Chargers have had since their rash of injuries this season.”

Khari A. Thompson

Sports Reporter

Khari Thompson covers professional sports for Boston.com. Before joining the team in 2022, Khari covered college football for The Clarion Ledger in Jackson, Miss.