Guide to the Patriots: What to Know About Chargers Wild Card Opponent

Jan 06, 2026 at 12:40 PM

Omar Navarro

Jr. Writer

Postseason football is here.

The Chargers will meet the Patriots in the Wild Card Round of the playoffs. Kickoff from Foxborough's Gillette Stadium is at 5 p.m. (PT).

We chatted with Chad Graff, who covers the Patriots for The Athletic, for an inside look at the Chargers Wild Card opponent.

The Patriots went 14-3 and had a remarkable turnaround season. What's the general vibe around them heading into Sunday's matchup?

Graff: The shock of this turnaround is wearing off and the reality that this is a legit Super Bowl contender is starting to sink in. Because for most of this season, it felt like an incredible ride for Patriots fans that endured a long, hard six years (sarcasm) without a Super Bowl.

Maybe the most shocking part of this turnaround is how quickly Mike Vrabel made winning feel normal again. Yes, they took advantage of a really bad schedule this season. But they also rarely struggled and finished with the league's third-best point differential.

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#0 | LB | Daiyan Henley

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#0 | LB | Daiyan Henley

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#1 | WR | Quentin Johnston

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#1 | WR | Quentin Johnston

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#2 | DB | Elijah Molden

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#2 | DB | Elijah Molden

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#3 | S | Derwin James, Jr.

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#3 | S | Derwin James, Jr.

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#5 | QB | Trey Lance

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#5 | QB | Trey Lance

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#6 | LB | Denzel Perryman

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#6 | LB | Denzel Perryman

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#8 | QB | Omarion Hampton

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#8 | QB | Omarion Hampton

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#9 | WR | Tre' Harris

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#9 | WR | Tre' Harris

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#10 | QB | Justin Herbert

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#10 | QB | Justin Herbert

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#11 | K | Cameron Dicker

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#11 | K | Cameron Dicker

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#12 | WR | Derius Daivs

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#12 | WR | Derius Daivs

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#13 | WR | Keenan Allen

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#13 | WR | Keenan Allen

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#15 | WR | Ladd McConkey

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#15 | WR | Ladd McConkey

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#16 | P | JK Scott

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#16 | P | JK Scott

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#20 | CB | Cam Hart

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#20 | CB | Cam Hart

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#23 | S | Tony Jefferson

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#23 | S | Tony Jefferson

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#24 | CB | Benjamin St-Juste

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#24 | CB | Benjamin St-Juste

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#26 | CB | Donte Jackson

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#26 | CB | Donte Jackson

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#27 | S | RJ Mickens

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#27 | S | RJ Mickens

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#28 | RB | Hassan Haskins

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#28 | RB | Hassan Haskins

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#29 | CB | Tarheeb Still

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#29 | CB | Tarheeb Still

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#30 | RB | Kimani Vidal

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#30 | RB | Kimani Vidal

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32 | RB | Jaret Patterson

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#32 | RB | Jaret Patterson

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#33 | DB | Deane Leonard

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#33 | DB | Deane Leonard

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#40 | S | Kendall Williamson

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#40 | S | Kendall Williamson

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#43 | LB | Troy Dye

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#43 | LB | Troy Dye

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#44 | FB/DL | Scott Matlock

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#44 | FB/DL | Scott Matlock

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#45 | OLB | Tuli Tuipulotu

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#45 | OLB | Tuli Tuipulotu

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#47 | LS | Josh Harris

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#47 | LS | Josh Harris

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#48 | OLB | Bud Dupree

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#48 | OLB | Bud Dupree

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#52 | OLB | Khalil Mack

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#52 | OLB | Khalil Mack

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#53 | LB | Del'Shawn Phillips

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#53 | OLB | Del'Shawn Phillips

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#54 | OLB | Kyle Kennard

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#54 | OLB | Kyle Kennard

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#58 | LB | Marlowe Wax

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#58 | LB | Marlowe Wax

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#64 | OL | Trevor Penning

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#64 | OL | Trevor Penning

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#66 | T | Bobby Hart

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#66 | T | Bobby Hart

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#68 | OL | Jamaree Salyer

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#68 | OL | Jamaree Salyer

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#73 | G | Mekhi Becton

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#73 | OL | Mekhi Becton

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#74 | T | Austin Deculus

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#74 | OL | Austin Deculus

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#75 | C | Bradley Bozeman

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#75 | C | Bradley Bozeman

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#77 | G | Zion Johnson

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#77 | G | Zion Johnson

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#78 | C | Andre James

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#78 | C | Andre James

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#79 | G/T | Trey Pipkins III

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#79 | G/T | Trey Pipkins III

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#83 | TE | Tyler Conklin

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#83 | TE | Tyler Conklin

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#84 | WR | KeAndre Lambert-Smith

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#84 | WR | KeAndre Lambert-Smith

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#86 | TE | Oronde Gadsden

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#86 | TE | Oronde Gadsden

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#89 | TE | Will Dissly

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#89 | TE | Will Dissly

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#90 | DL | Tear Tart

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#90 | DL | Tear Tart

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#91 | DL | Da'Shawn Hand

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#91 | DL | Da'Shawn Hand

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#92 | DL | Justin Eboigbe

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#92 | DL | Justin Eboigbe

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#93 | DL | Otito Ogbonnia

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#93 | DL | Otito Ogbonnia

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#98 | OLB | Odafe Oweh

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#98 | OLB | Odafe Oweh

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#99 | DT | Jamaree Caldwell

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#99 | DT | Jamaree Caldwell

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#7 | RB | DJ Uiagalelei

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#7 | RB | DJ Uiagalelei

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#31 | S | Marcus Williams

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#31 | S | Marcus Williams

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#34 | RB | Amar Johnson

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#34 | RB | Amar Johnson

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#37 | CB | Isas Waxter

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#37 | CB | Isas Waxter

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#41 | RB | Royce Freeman

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#41 | RB | Royce Freeman

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#49 | TE | Thomas Yassmin

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#49 | TE | Thomas Yassmin

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#50 | LB | Emany Johnson

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#50 | LB | Emany Johnson

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#63 | C | Josh Kaltenberger

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#63 | C | Josh Kaltenberger

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#67 | OL | Foster Sarell

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#67 | OL | Foster Sarell

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#71 | G | Branson Taylor

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#71 | G | Branson Taylor

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#72 | G | Ben Cleveland

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#72 | G | Ben Cleveland

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81 | WR | Dalevon Campbell

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81 | WR | Dalevon Campbell

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#82 | WR | JaQuae Jackson

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#82 | WR | JaQuae Jackson

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#88 | TE | Tanner McLachlan

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#88 | TE | Tanner McLachlan

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#94 | DL | TeRah Edwards

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#94 | DL | TeRah Edwards

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#95 | DL | Kyle Peko

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#95 | DL | Kyle Peko

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#97 | OLB | Garmon Randolph

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#97 | OLB | Garmon Randolph

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#22 | RB | Najee Harris

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#22 | RB | Najee Harris

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#25 | LB | Junior Colson

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#25 | LB | Junior Colson

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#37 | CB | Jordan Oladokun

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#37 | CB | Jordan Oladokun

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#39 | CB | Eric Rogers

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#39 | CB | Eric Rogers

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#42 | TE | Tucker Fisk

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#42 | TE | Tucker Fisk

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#46 | CB | Nikko Reed

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#46 | CB | Nikko Reed

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#69 | DL | Josh Fuga

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#69 | DL | Josh Fuga

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#70 | T | Rashawn Slater

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#70 | T | Rashawn Slater

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#76 | T | Joe Alt

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#76 | T | Joe Alt

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#67 | T | Savion Washington

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#67 | T | Savion Washington

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Drake Maye had an MVP-caliber season in Year 2. Where did he make the biggest jump to put him in the MVP conversation?

Graff: Two areas stick out when thinking about Maye's improvement. The first is his turnovers. Maye got way more accurate with the football. Last season, Maye had the fourth-highest percentage of turnover-worthy throws, per Pro Football Focus. This season, he ranks 17^th in the stat. Maye also finished the regular season with the best completion percentage in the league.

The other area where Maye has jumped is with the deep ball. We saw flashes of it last season, but the Patriots, shockingly, turned into one of the best big-play offenses in the NFL this season. Maye finished with the third-highest average depth of target this season, a sign of how frequently he's pushed the ball downfield, and he ranked third in completion percentage on passes of 20 or more yards.

Part of the big turnaround has undoubtedly been Vrabel. How did his leadership change the culture in New England in Year 1?

Graff: It's really quite shocking. If we're being honest, the Patriots' roster still isn't one that you'd consider a top-5 or maybe even a top-10 group. But Vrabel has gotten everything and more out of this group and has so many players performing better than expected.

It's easy to see why a downtrodden team could quickly take to Vrabel, though. For all his trash-talking demeanor (which very much exists) he's backed his players at so many turns. During a joint practice in training camp, he dove headfirst into a fight and emerged bloodied while sticking up for his guys. He waits for them outside the locker room after every game to give them a hug and thank them for the work. And so far, every lever that he's pulled has worked.