Patriots Ups & Downs: Who stood up in a wild card win over the Chargers?

The New England Patriots have advanced to the divisional round after scoring their first playoff win since the 2018 season with a 16-3 win over the Los Angeles Chargers Sunday night at Gillette Stadium. Here's who earned UP or DOWN grades based on their on-field performance in the game...

If there were ever a night that Chaisson could make plays consistently up front, it was in this game against a depleted Chargers tackle group. He delivered, with five total pressures, according to Pro Football Focus. And Chaisson made arguably the single biggest defensive play of the game with a fourth-quarter forced fumble, which helped the Pats bleed precious minutes off the clock with a two-score lead.

That might have been the easiest matchup Chaisson will have in this playoff run, but he took full advantage of the opportunity and keyed a dominating night for the defense.

Credit to Maye for coming up with a big touchdown drive early in the fourth quarter, but overall, this was not his best night and likely won't be good enough if the Patriots want to keep winning. Maye turned the ball over twice, one while pinned down by his own goal line and another while he had the offense in field goal range during a manageable series. He fumbled a third time and was fortunate that his teammate, Jared Wilson, snagged the loose ball, possibly saving a scoop-and-score.

Granted, Maye made a handful of big plays, and certainly made more plays than the Chargers' Justin Herbert. That's often what these playoff games come down to, and Maye did just enough to win. But the Patriots won't give up three points every week, and they likely won't survive with Maye losing the ball as much as he did. He's got plenty to clean up ahead of the divisional round, which is guaranteed to come against another good defense.

It was a much-welcomed return for a player that may not be a game-changer in any defense, but certainly is for this group. Spillane made six tackles and one pass breakup on the night, and while those stats may not pop off the screen, his mere presence in the defense allowed the other linebackers to slip into more comfortable roles.

He's also the signal-caller and a heart-and-soul kind of player for this unit. So, it's no surprise that they put together their best effort of the whole season on the night he returned to the lineup.

Rough night for the left side of the Patriots offensive line, but left guard Jared Wilson (four total pressures allowed) gets a pass for recovering Maye's late fumble, a great play that may have saved a Chargers touchdown. Campbell allowed three total pressures, including a sack, according to the early postgame data from Pro Football Focus.

Campbell did draw a tough matchup against the Chargers' Khalil Mack, but he rarely had answers for the edge pressure. A "welcome to the NFL" kind of night for the rookie in his playoff debut.

The veteran back's hot streak continues. Stevenson led the team with 128 yards from scrimmage, most notably with a 48-yard catch-and-run that helped set up their first points of the night. That play also made him the team's leading receiver (four catches for 75 yards). The Patriots may not be able to get all the way to hoisting the Lombardi Trophy with Stevenson being their most effective weapon on offense, but he's been playing exceptional football in his own right, and at the best possible time.

Davis allowed catches on 3 of 4 targets, and the fourth was a drop by Keenan Allen. He also committed a 22-yard pass interference penalty, and was fortunate that the Chargers ended up punting. The Patriots are only going to face better quarterbacks and receivers from here, and so they'll need Davis to play better and cleaner football to maximize themselves.

Unlike most of his best efforts this season, which revolved mainly around his punt return prowess, Jones made his greatest impact in this game on defense. The L.A. receivers made little impact against Jones, outside of two chunk catches by Allen and Ladd McConkey. But Jones' biggest impact was actually up front, disrupting Herbert. He sacked Herbert once and made another pressure, and also tackled Herbert just short of the goal line on an early third-down play, keying a critical defensive stand. Jones even knocked the ball out of Herbert's hands on one play, but the Chargers recovered it.

It was an excellent playoff debut for Jones, who has played the best football of his career in his first season under Mike Vrabel.

Just two catches on five targets for 16 yards on the night for Diggs. One of the incompletions even clanged off his hands for a rare drop. Maye had to look elsewhere for guys to make an impact in the passing game. He and the offense won't be able to live that way going forward. Diggs is going to have to find a way to be more of a go-to target and downfield threat in the divisional round and potentially beyond, if the Patriots want to keep advancing.

There will be at least one more edition of Patriots Ups & Downs this season. Next list comes next Sunday after the divisional round, when the Pats will play the winner of Monday night's Texans-Steelers game.