On Sunday at Gillette Stadium, the Patriots (14-3) outlasted the Chargers (11-6) in an ugly 16-3 win in the Wild Card Round, advancing them to the AFC Divisional Round next Sunday where they’ll take on the winner of Monday night’s game between the No. 4 seed Steelers (10-7) and No. 5 seed Texans (12-5).
It wasn’t pretty on offense, but a dominant effort by the defense powered the Patriots past Los Angeles for their first playoff win since beating the Rams in Super Bowl LIII back in February of 2019.
With playoff football back in Foxborough for the first time since Mike Vrabel was coaching the Titans to an upset victory over a Tom Brady-led Patriots back in January of 2020, the defense more than held up their end of the bargain on Sunday night. Justin Herbert was held to just 159 passing yards after being sacked 6 times, with PFF grading New England out with 30 pressures on the Pro Bowl QB on the night.
It was reminiscent of the dynasty years Vrabel was a part of as a player, and it was enough to prop up an offense for the Patriots that had its worst game in months - arguably since their Week 1 loss to the Raiders (3-14).
The major catalyst of that effort?
Fifth-year defensive tackle Milton Williams.
On top of being a line mover up front, Williams accounted for 2 sacks of his own, one of which was the true game-sealer in the fourth quarter that sent Gillette Stadium into a frenzy. It also led to Williams head-butting his head coach while still wearing his helmet, which had Vrabel rocking a fat lip postgame.
That was the least of Vrabel’s concerns. He was ecstatic at how his $104 million defensive tackle performed, and he talked more about that performance on Monday’s Greg Hill Show.
“He wants that role,” said Vrabel. “He wants to be able to do those things. We saw him do that at different times earlier in the season, and then he had missed a few weeks, and worked hard to get back, and was able to get through some stuff at the end of the regular season just to be prepared for this game - to be able to work through some of those things that are associated [with] when you're coming back from an ankle sprain.
“And so I think those are all things that are to his credit. I think to the staff's credit, to the training staff and everybody involved with that - to kind of map that out and be ready, have him ready and where he needs to be to impact games in January.”
While the Patriots should hope for a better game out of their MVP caliber QB in the AFC Divisional Round, Williams continued superb play will be crucial to this team’s success moving forward.
Which O-line will Williams feast on next? We'll know by Monday night.
If it's Houston, who ranks near the bottom of the league in almost every statistical category in offensive line play, we could see another big night for the big man. If it's Pittsburgh, who ranks second in the NFL in pass blocking efficiency, Williams will have to earn his paycheck.
Tune in each and every Monday throughout the football season to Patriots Monday on WEEI. Head coach Mike Vrabel joins The Greg Hill Show at 6:30 a.m. ET, and quarterback Drake Maye joins WEEI Afternoons.