Patriots embarrassed by Chargers at home by 40-7 final
The New England Patriots dropped to 3-13 after suffering the ugliest loss of a season filled with them, as they fell 40-7 to the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday at a rainy Gillette Stadium. The 33-point defeat marked easily the team’s largest deficit on the scoreboard in 2024.
Patriots rookie quarterback Drake Maye finished the game 12-of-22 passing for 117 yards, one touchdown, and no interceptions, but did lose a fumble. Maye briefly left the game with what was termed a head injury, but was cleared to play during the second quarter. Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert, meanwhile, went 26-of-38 for 281 yards and three touchdowns, his first three-score game of the season.
The Patriots quickly dealt with serious injury concerns, as Maye exited the game after the Pats’ first possession. Maye took a helmet-to-helmet hit as he tried to run down the sideline for a first down. He was later ruled questionable to return with a head injury, giving way for backup quarterback Jacoby Brissett to enter the game on the next possession.
The Chargers promptly went down the field on the following possession, their second of the game. Herbert converted two third downs on his way to the end zone, capping the drive with a touchdown pass to wide receiver Derius Davis, who made an impressive leaping grab over his head.
Brissett’s first drive was a quick three-and-out, ending with a punt that started the Chargers at their 24-yard line. The first quarter ended with L.A. up 7-0.
The Chargers ended up moving 67 yards in 12 plays, but the Patriots got a red-zone stop, forcing them to settle for a 27-yard field goal by Cameron Dicker to make it 10-0.
Maye was cleared to return to the game for the Patriots’ third offensive drive, but his turnover woes unfortunately popped back up. Maye went for a backward pitch, but his intended target didn’t appear to be in the area he was expecting, resulting in a backward toss to the turf for a fumble and an easy recovery by the Chargers.
L.A. took full advantage, driving 44 yards in nine plays and finishing off the gift drive with a Herbert touchdown pass to rookie receiver Ladd McConkey, making it 17-0 Chargers.
Maye mercifully managed to get points on the board for the Patriots before the end of the first half, almost by himself. He gained 70 of the Pats’ 73 yards on the drive, 12 on the ground and 58 through the air, most notably with a 36-yard heave to the end zone that receiver DeMario “Pop” Douglas adjusted to come down with for a touchdown, making it 17-7 Chargers.
With a combination of chunk plays and a gift of a penalty by Patriots edge rusher Yannick Ngakoue, who shoved Herbert well after he released the ball to get called for roughing the passer, the Chargers drove 50 yards on their final possession of the second quarter and scraped three more points on the board with another Dicker field goal. The teams headed to the locker rooms at halftime with L.A. up 20-7.
The Patriots got the ball to start the third quarter, but punted after a four-play drive, which included a holding penalty by Hunter Henry on the first snap that set them back. The Chargers responded by marching on yet another touchdown drive, this time capped with a 40-yard dagger, a perfectly placed bomb from Herbert to McConkey for his second score of the day, making it 27-7.
The Patriots got the ball back and faced fourth-and-2 with 6:09 left in the third quarter, and at that point in the game opted to go for it. Poor pass protection resulted in Maye backpedaling and taking a 15-yard sack by Chargers safety Derwin James. The Pats got a defensive stop on the ensuing Chargers possession, but the road team converted another field goal to go up 30-7.
New England ran 12 plays on its next drive, but turned it over on downs again, and after Maye took a sack, again. Los Angeles responded to that by driving 48 yards in 10 plays for another touchdown, extending their lead to 37-7 early in the fourth quarter. Herbert was pulled from the game at that point, with the score out of hand.
Up Next: The Patriots will mercifully conclude their rough 2024 season next Sunday, when they take on the Buffalo Bills in Foxboro.
Matt Dolloff is a writer and digital content producer for 98.5 The Sports Hub. Read all of his articles here.
