(7) Los Angeles Chargers @ (2) New England Patriots
Sunday, January 11, 8:00 PM ET
The Los Angeles Chargers have been seemingly looking past the New England Patriots for a while at this point. The Chargers decided early in the week that they were not going to play starters against the Broncos, basically conceding the 7th seed barring the unexpected happening in the Mile High City on Sunday.
After the game, a Chargers player headed to the locker room said, "See you in two weeks," once again confirming that this team is overlooking the task in front of them. The Patriots are a great team, one of the best in the NFL, but the Chargers seem to be treating them like a foregone conclusion.
It has been a war of attrition for the Chargers this season, especially on the offensive side of the ball. This team has been without Rashawn Slater and Joe Alt, and star quarterback Justin Herbert has played through a sugery on his non-throwing hand. It's been another year of resilience for the Chargers, who wanted to reach the playoffs as healthy as possible.
Even if it meant a road trip to New England.
The Patriots are early 3.5-point favorites against the Chargers, and I really don't hate this matchup at all for either team. The Chargers have the type of defense to make life difficult on Drake Maye, but Maye has the type of talent to shred any defense.
The Patriots have been criticized for playing one of the "softest" schedules in the NFL, but that doesn't really matter right now. Every team is battle tested in different ways. It'll be interesting to see how much having the starters rest in Week 18 actually helps Los Angeles.
I do believe the Chargers can go on the road and pull off an upset, but I'm not predicting it this week. I think the Patriots find a way.
Prediction: Patriots win 24-23