{"id":129113,"date":"2026-01-11T11:43:08","date_gmt":"2026-01-11T11:43:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/129113\/"},"modified":"2026-01-11T11:43:08","modified_gmt":"2026-01-11T11:43:08","slug":"chargers-know-they-cant-underestimate-drake-maye-and-patriots","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/129113\/","title":{"rendered":"Chargers know they can’t underestimate Drake Maye and Patriots"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Chargers<\/a>\u2019 mindset hasn\u2019t wavered since Week 1.<\/p>\n

Coach Jim Harbaugh<\/a> and quarterback Justin Herbert<\/a> insisted that it\u2019s business as usual for the Chargers ahead of their AFC wild-card showdown against the New England Patriots<\/a> at Gillette Stadium on Sunday night.<\/p>\n

But rookie wide receiver Tre\u2019 Harris can\u2019t help but feel some change, even if just so slightly \u2014 knowing that a loss means back-to-back seasons under Harbaugh without a playoff win.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverybody a little bit more locked in,\u201d Harris said. \u201cEverybody\u2019s staying a couple more hours after meetings and things like that. Cleaning up things, making sure everything\u2019s dotted. That\u2019s what comes with playoff football.\u201d<\/p>\n

Harris referenced a \u201cwise words\u201d speech linebacker Daiyan Henley made at the end of practice Thursday as an example of the communication veteran players and coaches are extending to younger players on the team.<\/p>\n

Henley, who eclipsed 100 tackles for the second straight season, said his message was about not letting up \u2014 a reminder to adhere to the Chargers\u2019 season-long standards and processes with their Super Bowl aspirations on the line.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor me mentally, and for a lot of guys here, you get into these rooms with these coaches, and they can build up the moment, build up the anticipation,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s the playoffs. It\u2019s do or die.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Crenshaw High alumnus continued: \u201cThese are things we all know. But what we have to understand is that it\u2019s been do or die since we started this season, because if it wasn\u2019t, we wouldn\u2019t be here \u2014 we wouldn\u2019t be in this situation in the playoffs.\u201d<\/p>\n

The importance of the game isn\u2019t lost on Chargers offensive coordinator Greg Roman, who has been working longer in meetings \u2014 and waking up earlier too. Roman, who guided the Chargers to the 12th-best offense (334 yards per game) despite losing standout offensive linemen Rashawn Slater, Joe Alt and running back Najee Harris to injuries during the year, has been getting a head start on playoff preparations by setting his alarm for 2:30 a.m.<\/p>\n

Luckily for the sleep-deprived Roman, he should have a healthy offensive line. Jamaree Salyer, who sat out the last two weeks with a hamstring injury, is set to return at left tackle, giving the Chargers their best starting five.<\/p>\n

But one big question remains: will running back Omarion Hampton play?<\/p>\n

After recovering from a fractured left ankle, the rookie tweaked his right ankle during Week 17 against the Houston Texans. Hampton, listed as questionable, said he\u2019s planning to play against the Patriots. If Hampton can\u2019t play or isn\u2019t 100%, it could prove costly against a New England team that had the NFL\u2019s sixth-best run defense (102 yards per game) during the regular season.<\/p>\n

A standout performance by the Chargers\u2019 defense would alleviate some of the pressure on offense. Under defensive coordinator Jesse Minter, the Chargers allowed the fifth-fewest yards (285 per game) and had the league\u2019s ninth-ranked scoring defense.<\/p>\n

In December 2024, the Chargers defeated quarterback Drake Maye and the Patriots 40-7 in Foxborough. Under coach Mike Vrabel, New England is a much different team \u2014 and Minter knows stopping Maye, a favorite for NFL MVP, will not be easy.<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe the top offense in football,\u201d said Minter, who has received requests to interview for head coaching jobs with the Cleveland Browns and Tennessee Titans.<\/p>\n

But Minter is ready for the challenge, one that could add another highlight to his resume and send the Chargers into new territory under Harbaugh.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think everybody in our room has tremendous confidence,\u201d Minter said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Chargers\u2019 mindset hasn\u2019t wavered since Week 1. Coach Jim Harbaugh and quarterback Justin Herbert insisted that it\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":129114,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[66482,25037,1535,423,11471,48,52,51,47,50,49,24092,6423,11476,17322,8841,278,427,4610,430,1539],"class_list":["post-129113","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-los-angeles","tag-12th-b-offense","tag-charger","tag-chargers","tag-game","tag-harris","tag-la","tag-la-headlines","tag-la-news","tag-los-angeles","tag-los-angeles-headlines","tag-los-angeles-news","tag-minter","tag-new-england-patriots","tag-omarion-hampton","tag-patriots","tag-playoff","tag-season","tag-team","tag-thing","tag-week","tag-yard"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/129113","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=129113"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/129113\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/129114"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=129113"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=129113"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=129113"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}