FOXBOROUGH -- Saturday’s AFC divisional matchup between the Patriots and Chargers was never going to be the second coming of the “Greatest Show on Turf” vs. the ‘13 Broncos, by any means.
But Keenan Allen started to brace for such a heavyweight bout following the first 13 minutes of play — with the fifth and 11th-ranked offenses piling on for a combined 21 points and 217 total yards through the first three drives of the day.
“At that point, once we scored again and then they scored to make it 14-7, we thought it was going to be a shootout,” Allen said. “First defense to get a stop is probably going to win.
"And then, they got three of them.”
By halftime, the Patriots' offense continued to hum at an effective rate — with New England finding the end zone on each of its first four drives to drop 28 early points against a Chargers club that entered Saturday with the ninth-ranked in the league in total defense.
Even during New England’s lone failed drive of the first half, the Patriots managed to counter, with Albert McClellan recovering a fumble from Desmond King. Just 1:45 later, the Patriots carved another seven points onto the scoreboard, with Sony Michel capping off a four-play, 35-yard drive with his third rushing touchdown of the half.
And while the Patriots raced into halftime buoyed by 35 points fist-half points, a skilled Chargers offense orchestrated by Philip Rivers floundered — with L.A.’s opening score serving as the lone bright spot on an otherwise miserable afternoon at a chilly Gillette Stadium.
Things quickly went downhill for Los Angeles after Allen hauled in a 43-yard touchdown with 5:03 remaining in the opening stanza. In their following four drives, the Chargers never managed to get the ball out of their own side of the field, notching just three first downs while only gaining 61 total yards to close out the half.
It was arguably one of the most dominant halves put forward by the Patriots in the Belichick-Brady era — a shellacking as frustrating as it was surprising for the Chargers, who had few answers for a Patriots defense that has continued to roll.
“I don’t know that they did a ton of stuff defensively that surprised us,” Rivers said afterward. “That first drive, like I said, we answered and scored. We did some things -- it seems like we got to midfield every possession that first half, just about. And then we just stalled.
"A lack of some third down conversions, not as efficient on first and second down. When it comes to an end, we can analyze it all we want. They scored more points than we did and they were the better team today.”
While the Chargers managed to counter the Patriots’ opening score with Allen’s touchdown — via a rare gaffe by Stephon Gilmore that allowed the L.A. wideout to break loose and reel in a feed from Rivers. But yards were soon at a premium for the Chargers.
Most of that was due to the play of New England’s defensive line, which made things unpleasant early and often for Rivers.
With a hampered Melvin Gordon neutralized for most of the contest (15 yards on nine rushes), the Chargers were forced to shoot their way out their growing deficit through the air — an arduous task given the amount of times Rivers found himself on the ground.
While Rivers (25-for-51, 331 yards) was only sacked twice on the afternoon by Trey Flowers and Adrian Clayborn, New England’s defense ultimately finished the game with seven quarterback hits (including a team-high three from Clayborn), while numerous pressures also forced Rivers into bad throws.
Trey Flowers is having his way with the Chargers' O line so far today. pic.twitter.com/qe938DYwEe
— Conor Ryan (@ConorRyan_93) January 13, 2019
Adam Butler breaks through untouched and gets pressure on Rivers, forcing a throwaway! pic.twitter.com/EGuyiSIfCk
— #NobodyDied (@ftbeard_17) January 13, 2019
JC Jackson with the PBU on 3rd down! pic.twitter.com/ieJvFs3LMB
— #NobodyDied (@ftbeard_17) January 13, 2019