The Chargers are headed to New England for the Wild Card Round of the 2025 NFL playoffs.
And this one is in primetime as kickoff is Sunday at 5 p.m. (PT) from Gillette Stadium. The game will be broadcast on NBC and Peacock.
“New England … all focus needs to be on that,” Chargers Head Coach Jim Harbaugh said Sunday. “That’s the type of game that does define your season. Put our focus and attention is on that.”
The Bolts earned the No. 7 seed in the AFC with an 11-6 record, meaning they will be on the road throughout the postseason.
“I feel like the possibilities are endless when you take a step back and try to look at the big picture,” Khalil Mack said. “Everybody is striving to get that win and get to the big game. That’s always the thought process, but got to focus on this one game first. Win or go home.”
Chargers Head Coach Jim Harbaugh’s squad went 5-3 on the road in 2025 and will rely on quarterback Justin Herbert and a stingy defense in the postseason.
Herbert sat out the Week 18 finale in Denver but put together a remarkable season given the attrition around him, plus the fact that he played through a broken left hand in the final month of the season.
The Chargers defense, meanwhile, rested key players in Week 18 but were among the NFL’s top units this season.
The Bolts ranked seventh in defensive success rate (41.7 percent) and were 11th in defensive EPA per play (-0.062) heading into Sunday.
The Patriots are the AFC’s No. 2 seed after winning the AFC East with a 14-3 record.
The Chargers and Patriots did not meet this season but played each other late in the 2024 season, a 40-7 Bolts road win in New England.
The Patriots are led by Head Coach Mike Vrabel, a former player in New England who has guided the organization to the postseason a year after the franchise won just four games.
The Chargers will also prepare for quarterback Drake Maye, the No. 3 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft who is among the NFL MVP frontrunners in 2025.
Maye put together a 4,000-yard and 30-touchdown season and completed more than 70 percent of his passes.
The Chargers and Patriots last met in the postseason in 2018, a game that was also played In New England. The Bolts were ousted in the Divisional Round in a 41-28 loss.
If the Chargers were to beat the Patriots, they would return to Denver to face the top-seeded Broncos.
“It’s a whole new season. All focus is on that, going to New England and getting ready to go get a dub. Hopefully come back here,” Tony Jefferson said.