Vrabel and Patriots bring confidence into divisional round after strong defensive performance

FOXBOROUGH, Mass., — Patriots coach Mike Vrabel left his team's 16-3 wild-card playoff victory over the Los Angeles Chargers with his face literally bloodied, but an unshaken confidence in his team.

He's optimistic because although there were some shortcomings by an offense that has sustained his team this season, he believes the Patriots played with a physicality on defense that has arrived at the perfect time.

New England limited Chargers to 207 total yards, the ninth time this season it held an opponent to fewer than 300 yards. The Patriots' six sacks tied for the second-most in franchise playoff history.

''Everybody played. Everybody contributed,'' Vrabel said. ''Guys went down. Other guys went in there and stepped up. We play a lot of guys on defense. I think they all appreciate that. I think they all have roles.''

Defensive tackle Milton Williams said the Patriots' success is a function of them not making things too complicated.

''We have been doing this all our lives. Keep it simple. We do not need any superhero, superhuman effort from anybody,'' Williams said. ''Just go out there and do your job and be where you are supposed to be. The rest is going to take care of itself.''

Next up is the Patriots' first trip to the divisional round since their run to the franchise's sixth Super Bowl title in the 2018 season.

What's working

After an uneven performance in the regular-season finale, a win over Miami, New England's defense was playoff-ready, putting pressure on Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert while keeping his wide receivers bottled up for most of the night. The Chargers, who led the NFL this season with 115 third-down conversions, went 1 of 10 on third down.

What needs help

New England's offense was 4 of 11 on third down and 0 for 3 in the red zone against the Chargers. Those rates will need to improve if the Patriots want to advance to the AFC championship game.

Stock up

Stock down

LG Jared Wilson, who missed the last two games while in the concussion protocol, struggled in his first game back. He gave up two of the five sacks and four of the five hurries allowed by the Patriots.

Injuries

Vrabel said CB Christian Gonzalez was not allowed to reenter the game after leaving with a head injury and has since been placed in the concussion protocol.

''Wherever that goes, that goes,'' Vrabel said. ''Hopefully we'll get him back.''

2 — With 38 playoff wins in their history, the Patriots have sole possession of second place on the NFL's postseason victory list behind San Francisco with 39.

Next steps

The Patriots will play the winner of Monday night's game between Houston and Pittsburgh. The Aaron Rodgers-led Steelers beat New England in Foxborough in Week 3. The Patriots haven't played the Texans since losing to them last season.

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