Going into this weekend, the Patriots had the possibility of playing three teams: the Chargers, Ravens, or Texans. With the Colts defeating the Texans on Saturday night, they’ve guaranteed a trip to Arrowhead next weekend. New England’s opponent will be decided Sunday afternoon in a 1:05 PM match-up at M&T Bank Stadium. Between the two, who would the Patriots rather see?
Los Angeles Chargers
The Chargers have been solid on both sides of the ball this season. They finished the regular season as the seventh-best scoring offense (26.8 PPG) and eighth-best scoring defense (20.6 PPG).
Everyone knows the trio of Philip Rivers, Melvin Gordon, and Keenan Allen, but the Chargers have weapons beyond that. Mike Williams, last year’s first-round pick finally started to look like the player they wanted when they drafted him, totaling 664 yards and 10 TDs. Tyrell Williams, another option in the passing game, added another 600+ yards and five touchdowns this year.
The biggest advantage the Chargers will have on offense is if TE Hunter Henry is activated. Henry has been a beast this year tore his ACL in May and missed the entire year. The 24-year old Arkansas product was building to becoming a really good TE prior to the injury. He may be able to step back in and take some pressure off of the other targets, and that would be great. If he is able to do any more than that, it would make their offense even more impressive.
On the defensive side of the ball, they have their monsters as well. Joey Bosa racked up 5.5 sacks in only seven games played. Melvin Ingram found his way into the Pro Bowl. Even rookie S Derwin James dominated this year, and found his way onto the All-Pro First-Team. Casey Hayward has had an up and down year, but he’s been a top-10 CB in recent years.
Where the secret weapon lies (and match-up problem for New England) is at the slot-corner position. The “nickel-corner” is so often overlooked, but we won’t do that. Desmond King has been a monster this year. PFF (who everybody knows I don’t always agree with) has King rated as the second-best CB this year. AP voted him to the All-Pro First-Team. Watching him this year, he has been special. He could be a problem for Julian Edelman.
Baltimore Ravens
The Ravens, with Lamar Jackson at QB, have been an interesting team to watch. They don’t throw the ball. Everybody knows they’re not going to throw, and it still works. Jackson’s had his problems with fumbles and inaccuracy, but he’s not the reason why they’re in this position.
Baltimore has allowed the second-fewest points to opposing teams this season (17.9). Holding a team to under 20 points is impressive. To do it for a year is even more so. To do it in a year where points have been flying left and right, that’s incredible.
Their defense has some big names including Terrell Suggs, Eric Weddle, and CJ Mosley, but it’s not just them. They drafted CB Marlon Humphrey out of Alabama in the first round of last year’s draft. Some people say their top CB, Jimmy Smith, is a top-10 CB in the league. All-around, this group plays excellent football and can cause havoc for other teams.
Who Would New England Want To Play?
I want to put out a few stats before we make a decision.
- Philip Rivers is 1-7 against New England (0-7 against Brady, 0-2 in playoffs).
- Bill Belichick’s defenses are 11-0 against rookie QBs in Foxboro.
- Last time the Patriots played a rookie QB in the playoffs was Ben Roethlisberger in 2004 (irrelevant but fun).
I’ve seen people say left and right that the Chargers are the team they should want. To me, they are the better all-around team. They can throw, run, and play stout-D against both.
The Ravens are pretty one-dimensional. They run the ball, and they do it a lot. Earlier in the season, that would’ve been a nightmare for New England, but by the end of the season, they were up to the 11th-ranked defense against the run. However, Patriots fans will still feel nervous because it feels like just yesterday Kerryon Johnson and Jaylen Samuels ran all over them.
Baltimore can make mistakes. Lamar Jackson started in only seven games. He fumbled 12 times, tied for most in the league. In the last few weeks of the season, we saw New England run a few different looks including a “playground” or “scramble” look that really messes with QBs. This could be something we see done against Lamar Jackson to force him into making poor decisions.
Belichick prides himself on being able to take away a team’s top threat. For the Chargers, there are potentially three or four of those guys to worry about after the fact. Against Baltimore, it’s easier.