BSJ Game Report: Patriots 27, Chargers 24 - New England back in the AFC mix at .500

Everything you need to know from the Patriots’ win over the Chargers in quickie form, with BSJ insight and analysis, including 3 up/down, second guesses and takes Bedard will likely regret later:

HEADLINES

Patriots grind one out: It wasn't always pretty on either side of the ball, but after the Chargers scored to go up 14-7, it felt oddly like the Patriots had control of the game, even though they trailed most of the game — until Adrian Phillips' pick-six of Justin Herbert with 10:11 left in the game. Both of the Young Gun QBs struggled against well-coordinated defenses, so it was left, largely, to which team took care of the ball more. Kendrick Bourne did have a fumble that cost the Patriots a field goal, but Herbert tossed two picks to Phillips that yielded 10 points. That was the game right there.

“Really good win for our football team,” said Bill Belichick. “The Chargers are a good football team. To come in here and come out with a win’s a great feeling.

“All in all, we made the plays we needed to make in the fourth quarter which was something that we hadn’t done as well earlier in the year, so it’s good to see that.”

Back to .500: What a difference a win makes. The Patriots, for the first time since Dec. 6th — against these same Chargers — have leveled their record at .500 (4-4). It's been 330 days since they were at 6-6 last season in the same stadium. Patriots are now 8th in the AFC pictures, a half-game out of sixth and are 4-1 in the conference.

Herbert, Jones both struggle: They might have different reps and physiques, but both of the QBs looked virtually the same in this game:

Jones: 18 of 35, 51.4 percent, 6.2 yards per attempt, 70.9 rating
Herbert: 18 of 35, 51.4 percent, 6.8, 66.7 rating

Made sense since both the Patriots and the Chargers under Brandon Staley mix a ton of different coverage looks pre- and post-snap with experienced secondary players. I think both teams did a great job executing their plans to the point that both QBs were basically erased in this game and it came down to everything else. Jones, in particular, got sped up and out of his game due to coverage and pressure. It happens to the best of them.

“Mac’s done a great job,” said Belichick. “He prepares hard, he works hard. He definitely knows what to do. Some things he needs to see and experience and there’s really no substitute for that other than getting out there and doing it.”

Adrian Phillips torments former team: Phillips, who the Chargers basically turned their back on in favor of 2019 second-round pick Nasir Adderley, got sweet revenge with two picks that produced the 10-point margin that won this game.

“Everyone wants to stick it to their former team," he told reporters. "To go out and play against them and having the game that I had, it was sweet. I loved it."

TURNING POINT

The Phillips pick-six, obviously. The Patriots were trailing 17-16 and closing fast, and Phillips' play sent the Chargers reeling.

“I can’t give away too much, but you watch film the whole week and hope that you get the opportunity to execute the way that you want to execute,” Phillips told reporters. “So we got the call, I saw the formation, I had a few options that I could make, and I just so happened to make the right option, and we ended up getting pressure on Herbert, which was our big focus all day. Just get pressure in his face. We made him make a quick decision, Cook wasn’t ready for it and I was able to take advantage of it and go to the end zone.”

SECOND GUESS

The Patriots had their fair share of issues in this one, including being out of timeouts with more than six minutes left in the game, but the goal-line fade call to Jakobi Meyers was a definite head-scratcher. I know the Patriots don't have many physical mismatches on this team, but throwing to Meyers on a play like that seems to be a low-percentage play. Gotta dial something up for Hunter Henry. He's your mismatch. Put him in x-iso (by himself detached).

THREE UP

Adrian Phillips: Pretty good day at the office when you produce 10 points for your team ... as a defensive player.

Christian Barmore: Had a half sack, four tackles and drew a penalty. Gets better by the week. Entering the territory where DCs have to have a plan for him.

Damien Harris: If his left tackles would stop holding for a second, he would have been well over 100 yards in this game. 

THREE DOWN

Left tackles: Both Isaiah Wynn and Justin Herron had issues and contributed to Jones getting sped up.

Kyle Dugger: Missed the force on one big run, whiffed on another player in the backfield ... seemed a bit out of sorts.

Mac Jones: Yes, he will have days like this. Yes, he was let down by a lot of people around him. But he wasn't good in this game. Borderline bad.

“I definitely didn’t have my best day at all,” Jones told reporters. “I think everyone around me had a great day. That’s what football is all about. I gotta find ways to improve in that aspect of just being consistent and making the throws I know I can make.”

INJURIES

Wynn left and returned.

TOP PLAYS

THREE TAKES BEDARD WILL PROBABLY REGRET LATER

Patriots can't rest on their laurels: It's great the Patriots have won two-straight games and hit .500 and are back alive in the playoff race (they would have been with a loss, don't tell anyone). But if they get full of themselves and think they've accomplished anything, they're going to right back down in the gutter. The next two weeks, against the Panthers and Browns, are two very winnable games against teams that are going in the other direction. But they could get right at any moment, like the Patriots have. Yes, the Patriots could put together a five-game winning streak heading into the Titans and Bills games. But they could also slip and stumble the next two weeks. Basically, what I'm trying to say is ... the Patriots are not good enough to get cocky.

The NFL defenses that run multiple coverages have figured Herbert out: This was almost a carbon copy of what the Ravens did to Herbert two weeks ago. The good team with different looks take away his first read, and then he struggles. He's going to need to adjust. Jones could stand to learn some lessons on this as well.

It's better to be lucky than good ...