Maye endured after a slow start in playoff debut. Drake Maye’s playoff debut got off to a skittish start, but he rallied the Patriots in a defensive battle and gave them just enough offense to advance in the playoffs for the first time in nearly seven years. The possible MVP winner was only 6-of-15 passing for 95 yards and an interception in the first half, and Maye was lucky the pick didn’t cost the Patriots points. He led two important field-goal drives in the first half, though, and used his legs well with 52 first-half rushing yards. After halftime, his arm got loose. Maye completed 11 of 14 passes for 173 yards and a TD in the second half, converting a few big third downs to Hunter Henry and then hitting Henry on the dagger – a 28-yard TD pass for the only touchdown of the game. Maye wasn’t perfect after halftime, missing Austin Hooper for a touchdown and taking a strip sack midway through the fourth quarter, fortunate it wasn’t a turnover had Patriots offensive lineman Jared Wilson not fallen on it. The Patriots’ offensive line struggled at times, especially Wilson and Will Campbell, the rookie duo, handling pressure. But Maye did enough to carry the Patriots through in a good, not great showing.Herbert’s playoff nightmare continued in six-sack outing. Justin Herbert’s third playoff game didn’t go better than his first two. He was sacked six times, took 11 hits and was held to 159 passing yards on 37 dropbacks. The Chargers’ offensive line came out pass protecting fairly well, but the Patriots’ pressure started getting home in the second quarter. Herbert made some plays with his legs, keeping the game alive, as the Patriots only held a 9-3 lead in the fourth quarter. But the pressure was too much, as the Patriots continued bringing extra heat. Zion Johnson appeared to have a particularly rough night up front, but it was a sloppy game all around by the Chargers’ battered offensive line. Herbert couldn’t get the ball to his playmakers with any consistency, and the Chargers all but lost after he took a strip sack late with eight minutes left. He’s now lost all three of his postseason starts, taking a total of 13 sacks and turning the ball over five times. Injuries killed the Chargers’ offensive hopes this season, but this was bad even by post-injury standards.Stevenson expanded his game. There was a point this season where it wasn’t clear how big Rhamondre Stevenson’s role would be, but he’s turned into a force for the Patriots – both as a runner and a receiver. There was more of the latter than the former on Sunday against the Chargers. Stevenson caught three passes for 75 yards, including an important 48-yard catch and run to get the Pats out of the shadow of their own end zone. He also made grabs of 10 and 17 yards in the second half, breaking multiple tackles and making defenders bounce off him. The Patriots started five drives at their own 20-yard line or worse, backed up inside their 10 twice, and Stevenson helped dig them out of those holes. He had a workmanlike 53 rushing yards and helped buoy the Patriots’ run game on a night when TreVeyon Henderson was held in check. It wasn’t a beautiful night offensively for New England, but the unit grinded out 381 yards, with a game-high 128 from their lead back.Hampton a no-show for Chargers. Omarion Hampton was active Sunday despite being questionable with an ankle injury, but his impact was minimal. He played exactly two snaps in the wild-card loss, getting stuffed on a 1-yard loss on his only carry and not returning to the field after the following play. Hampton was not listed as having re-injured his ankle, but it was clear the Chargers didn’t trust him to handle any of the load. Instead, Kimani Vidal was tapped as the running back on 55 of the Chargers’ 59 offensive plays; no other back took an offensive snap against New England. Vidal was hemmed in as a runner and caught only two passes, although he did gain 17 yards off a Justin Herbert fumble on a heads-up play. Early on, the Chargers were calling a lot of Herbert designed runs, including a few failed efforts in the red zone following a Patriots turnover. The Chargers handed the ball off only 12 times all game, which was a one-score affair for the first 50 minutes of the contest. Hampton’s unavailability — and the Chargers’ shoddy blocking — really threw a wrench in their offensive plans.Patriots’ defense deserved credit, too. Some of the Chargers’ offensive misgivings were compounded by their own issues and mistakes, but it would be wrong not to credit New England’s defense for a fine outing. The first big test came halfway through the first quarter when Maye was intercepted to give the Chargers the ball at the New England 10-yard line. After stopping Herbert three times as a runner, the Patriots forced a fourth-down incompletion in a tide-turning play. The pressure wasn’t there initially, but the Patriots started getting home in the late second quarter, sacking Herbert on back-to-back plays – two of the six they collected on the night. They missed a few tackles on Herbert as a scrambler but were otherwise excellent in that department, keeping the run game down and holding the Chargers to no gains longer than 20 yards. The head injury to cornerback Christian Gonzalez is worth watching after he left the game in the fourth quarter. When Gonzalez was in there, he was on point, with the Patriots able to play man defense and have him shut down half the field.
Next Gen Stats Insight for Chargers-Patriots (via NFL Pro): Rhamondre Stevenson picked up 42.8 yards after the catch on his 48-yard reception in the first half.
NFL Research: The Chargers have scored 18 points in their last 10 quarters in the playoffs.