What to watch for when the New England Patriots host the Los Angeles Chargers on Saturday.
Coming into the 2024 season one of the big overarching goals for the Patriots – as it should be for any rebuilding team – was showing signs of progress. Would the team be better at the end of the year than it was at the beginning.
Given how flat the team looked coming out of the bye week against the Arizona Cardinals two weeks ago, it looked like that late surge might not be coming. Then last week against a much tougher opponent the Patriots played one of their best games of the year, taking the Buffalo Bills to the wire in a 24-21 loss.
Part of the reason that game was so close was one of the best in-game gameplans we’ve seen from the Patriots’ coaching staff this year. There were still game-management issues, but from a preparation standpoint that game in Buffalo felt like a step forward.
Now the question is was that game a sign of progress the team can use to build on for 2025? Or was it a one-off against a familiar divisional opponent?
The team will hope to prove it’s the former this week, when they get another tough test with the Los Angeles Chargers coming to Gillette Stadium on Saturday. The Chargers can clinch a playoff berth with a win, so the Patriots can expect to get their best shot – even as a West Coast dome team coming east for a 1:00 p.m. ET kickoff.
While the Chargers will have to deal with the travel and the weather, the Patriots will have their own logistic challenges. We’ll start with a test for the coaching staff in this week’s edition of ‘5 Things’…
A short week
Dec 15, 2024; Glendale, Arizona, USA; New England Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo against the Arizona Cardinals in the second half at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
This will be the second short week for this new Patriots coaching staff. Their first came in Week 3, when they visited the Jets for Thursday Night Football. After two promising games to start the season that was when things started to slip for the Patriots, with that game ending in a 24-3 score and the Patriots getting outgained by 261 yards. From start to finish, the team didn’t look ready to go.
While this week is structured a little differently than a Sunday to Thursday short week, the prep time was still limited. Not only is the game a day earlier than usual on Saturday, but the team was also off one day for the Christmas holiday.
“It’s all about football and it’s about execution,” head coach Jerod Mayo said this week when asked about the schedule of the week. “It’s not about any of those outside things. It’s not about the family being in town. As soon as you cross the white lines, it has to be all about football. As soon as you enter these doors, it has to be all about football. We’re here to win football games and that’s what we intend to do.”
This game will be a great chance for the coaching staff to show growth in that regard, and have a better showing than their last short week. After one of their best preparation games against the Bills last week, they should have a blueprint for what worked.
Who is snapping the ball?
Dec 15, 2024; Glendale, Arizona, USA; New England Patriots center Ben Brown (77) against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium. Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
That’s right – we’re back on center watch. The question about who will be snapping the ball to Drake Maye lingers for another week.
This week though there’s a good chance there will be a change. Starter Ben Brown was in the NFL’s concussion protocol as of Thursday and didn’t practice at all this week. While that’s usually a sign a player won’t play, the Patriots did list him as questionable on the final injury report of the week rather than rule him out.
“Ben Brown is in the protocol. Once they go into the protocol, it’s really out of our hands. It’s in the league’s hands,” Merod Mayo said on Thursday.
Still, players at his stage in the protocol usually don’t make it back for game day. If he can’t go, the Patriots have two options.
“We have to have guys ready,” Mayo explained. “You think about Lecitus [Smith], you think about Cole [Strange], you think about those guys, and they got to be ready to go.”
Strange is the most likely of the two to get the nod. He’s been back from IR for over a month now, and there’s only a few weeks left to get a look at him at center. If the Patriots’ plan is to see if he’s a potential long-term option at center or if they need to add at the position this offseason, they’re running out of chances to get a look.
Running back workload
ORCHARD PARK, NEW YORK – DECEMBER 22: Rhamondre Stevenson #38 of the New England Patriots runs the ball against the Buffalo Bills during the first quarter at Highmark Stadium on December 22, 2024 in Orchard Park, New York. (Photo by Timothy T Ludwig/Getty Images)
Center isn’t the only position on the Patriots’ offense that could see a lineup shakeup this week. Running back is also a question, after Rhamondre Stevenson’s seventh fumble of the year last week – the most in the NFL this year by a non-quarterback.
After the game last week, Jerod Mayo was non-committal when asked if Stevenson’s role could decrease after his latest fumble – something that the team already did with him once when he was having fumbling issues at the beginning of the season.
“Look, I think everyone understands how important the football is. We’re a team that we just can’t turn the ball over. I don’t think any team can really afford to turn the ball over. I thought Gibby [Antonio Gibson], when he got in there, did a great job. We had to go back and talk about it as a staff, but it’s definitely still a possibility. Look, I will say this: we all in this building stand behind Rhamondre and the things that he does. He does a lot of good things. Unfortunately, right now, the ball’s just on the ground too much.”
Gibson would likely take over as the starter if Stevenson is ‘benched.’ While Gibson fumbled last week too it was just his second of the year. Gibson has been building momentum in recent weeks, which has come with a higher snap count in each of the Patriots’ last four games.
While Stevenson’s role might decrease, it would be surprising to see him not play outright. If that is the case though, it could be a chance to get a longer look at rookie Terrell Jennings, who was added to the active roster last week.
What could have been
INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA – OCTOBER 27: Ladd McConkey #15 of the Los Angeles Chargers runs after the catch in the third quarter of a game against the New Orleans Saints at SoFi Stadium on October 27, 2024 in Inglewood, California. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
This game will see a player that – in retrospect – is being viewed as one of the Patriots’ biggest draft misses this year coming to Gillette Stadium for the first time. Ladd McConkey, who has been one of the best rookie receivers in football this year, was drafted by the Chargers after they traded up with the Patriots at the top of the second round.
With the picks they got from trading down the Patriots took two receivers – Ja’Lynn Polk in the second round and Javon Baker in the fourth. The Patriots also sent a fifth-round pick back to the Chargers, which they used on fifth-round pick cornerback Tarheeb Still.
Through 14 games this year McConkey has caught 69 passes for 960 yards and five touchdowns. He has a good chance to reach the 1,000-yard mark against the Patriots, which would make him the third rookie this year to hit the mark after Malik Nabers and tight end Brock Bowers.
When it comes to defending McConkey, the Patriots have their options. McConkey lines up in the slot 71.5 percent of the time. Will they move Christian Gonzalez inside to go strength-on-strength? Or will they leave Gonzalez on the outside (likely against Josh Palmer), and look for Jonathan Jones to build on his impressive game last week against the Bills? It wouldn’t be surprising to see them start with Jones on McConkey, but there could be a quick switch to Gonzalez.
If the Patriots can limit McConkey, it would go a long way in neutralizing the Chargers’ passing game. McConkey leads the team in targets, with almost double the next-closest player. That player is tight end Will Dissly, who has caught 43 passes for 418 yards this year. Dissly is questionable after being limited for most of the week in practice. If he’s out and McConkey is covered, Justin Herbert will be forced to throw to pass-catchers he may not be as comfortable with.
Games to know around the league
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA – NOVEMBER 10: Josh Allen #17 of the Buffalo Bills looks on during the fourth quarter against the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium on November 10, 2024 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images)
After Saturday’s game, Patriots fans will get a full Red Zone Sunday. There are a couple of games to keep an eye on.
The first is the matchup between the Buffalo Bills and New York Jets at 1:00. The Bills have been eliminated from the top seed with the Kansas City Chiefs’ win on Monday. A win this week locks the Bills into the second seed, meaning they will have nothing at stake in terms of playoff seeding when they come to Gillette Stadium next week (whether they care about the difference between the second and third seed without the bye is another question).
Then there’s the draft picture. The Patriots come into the week slotted into the second draft spot behind only the New York Giants. If the Giants were to beat the Colts in New Jersey on Sunday, the Patriots would hold the top overall pick heading into the final week of the season.
There’s also a matchup between two three-win teams, with the Jaguars taking on the Titans at 1:00 in an AFC South showdown. That game will thin out one of the five current three-win teams, improving the Patriots’ picks on Day 2 and 3 of the draft (which is explained in this week’s Mailbag).
