The Chargers have worked all season to get to this point. They’re back in the playoffs once again with Justin Herbert and Jim Harbaugh leading the way. But can they find a way to finally get past the first round? Surrounding circumstances tell us it’s going to be a tall task, but those same circumstances […]
The Chargers have worked all season to get to this point. They’re back in the playoffs once again with Justin Herbert and Jim Harbaugh leading the way. But can they find a way to finally get past the first round?
Surrounding circumstances tell us it’s going to be a tall task, but those same circumstances seemingly should have sank this season in LA, but it did not. Herbert and the Harbaugh effect have kept this team afloat through some massive hits and obstacles over the past 18 weeks and it truly makes you believe they could have at least one more gutsy victory up their sleeve.
It’s time to leave it all out on the field one more time.
Here are the three things I’ll be watching for when these teams take the field on Sunday.
1.) Can the Chargers offensive line find it within themselves to play one of their cleanest games of the season?
This season has been incredibly unfair to Justin Herbert.
He’s put his body and health on the line each and every week and he’s been rewarded with being the quarterback that’s had to play behind the most unique offensive line combinations in the NFL this year. The Bolts have had 32 different groups, two more than the Browns in second place. Yet somehow, they’re still in the postseason with 11 wins.
The Patriots were deemed an ideal matchup — if there is one — in the wild card round due to their lack of an elite pass rush. They have no defenders with double-digit sacks and are tied for the seventh-least sacks by a team during the regular season with 35.
If there is any way this Chargers team is going to find a way past the wild card round for the first time in Justin Herbert’s career, it’s going to be with a herculean effort by the front five to keep Herbert on his feet and give him ample time to make plays against the league’s ninth-ranked pass defense.
And when I say this, I mean not an effort where he’s sacked zero times, but even somewhere around around 2-3 would be seen as a vast improvement compared to recent weeks. If any of these guys want to be with the Chargers next year and avoid the inevitable revamping of the offensive line room, they’ll need to leave it all out on the field.
2.) Will Omarion Hampton be healthy enough to make an impact?
The Chargers rookie back was a non-participant in practice this week for the team’s first two sessions. Then, on Friday, he was given a questionable tag for Sunday night after participating in a limited fashion to end the week.
Failing to log a full practice the week before the team’s first playoff game is not a great sign, but knowing this coaching staff it could have been out of an abundance of caution or to squeeze as much rehabilitation time into the week.
Hampton told reporters on Friday that the plan is for him to play, but we won’t know exactly how much he’ll play until Sunday arrives. Kimani Vidal is returning from a neck injury and that will also create another line of questions for the health and state of the backfield.
The Chargers absolutely need a great day from the it ground attack against the Patriots to help shorten the game against against a very balanced an efficient offense. In the same way teams would previously want to keep the ball out of Herbert’s hands, the Bolts need to do everything they can to do the same for Maye.
This hope will be aided by the Patriots already ruling out defensive tackle Khyris Tonga, one of their best run defenders, on Friday. Anything helps and per Patriots fans, this is a big aid.
3.) How will Jesse Minter attack the Patriots offense?
The Patriots come into this game with three offensive lineman who have allowed 26 or more pressures on the season. Right tackle Morgan Moses leads them with 29 while rookie guard Jared Wilson has 28 and first-round left tackle Will Campbell has 26. Campbell also leads the team in sacks allowed with five. Wilson is right behind him with four.
The tackles will be where the Chargers can create the most pressure and it’s also where they could draw some free yards due to penalties. Moses leads the team with eight flags while Campbell has seven. As we’ve seen in numerous big-time games around the NFL and college football world, some of these games can be decided by ill-timed penalties in crucial moments. This is an area where Minter can try and create free yardage for his offense.
Being able to push the Patriots backwards leads to improved field position for the offense. It’s obviously easier said than done, but Minter has done a phenomenal job with his unit since the bye week and if he wants to help his case for running a franchise next year, this will be an excellent buff to his resume.
Category: General Sports
