Ahead of this year’s training camp, New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel explained that he was looking at his team’s performances in three distinct categories. There is the good, the bad, and, as he called it, the s—t that gets you beat.

The Patriots 16-3 win over the Los Angeles Chargers in Sunday’s wild card playoff round featured a mix off all three. So, if the coach wants to look at his team through those categories, who are we to disagree? Let’s break down the postseason opener in exactly that manner.

The good: Defensive performance

The Patriots defense...

Mike Vrabel and the Patriots found a new way to win against the Chargers, a suffocating defensive effort propelling New England to a 16-3 victory at Gillette Stadium on Sunday night.

Vrabel had a galvanizing message in the Patriots locker room after the victory.

“I can’t tell you how proud I am to sit here and be your coach,” Vrabel said. “You guys have worked so hard for this opportunity. We’re going to enjoy it. We said all along, ‘You gotta be willing to spill some blood’ and ‘The big dogs come out in January.'”

Vrabel gave a specific nod...

A major question mark awaits the Patriots after passing their first-round test.

Will star cornerback Christian Gonzalez, who suffered a head injury late in the fourth quarter of New England’s 16-3 win over the Chargers, be ready for the divisional round?

Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel weighed in on Gonzalez’s injury when he appeared on WEEI’s “The Greg Hill Show” on Monday morning.

“Yeah, I did talk to him (Sunday night),” Vrabel said. “So we’ll go through whatever the steps are that would require him to pass through whatever he needs to do. Without having seen him today, I can’t...

Not even a double-digit playoff win is enough to sell everyone on the New England Patriots.

Mike Vrabel’s team entered the postseason facing questions galore about their ability to handle tougher opponents. The Patriots responded by dominating Justin Herbert in a 16-3 win over the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday night.

Dan Graziano didn’t view the Wild Card Round triumph as validation for the Patriots. Instead, the ESPN insider doubled down on the idea that the AFC East champions “still haven’t beaten anybody good.”

“Oh sure, they won. Which is all that matters at this point,” Graziano wrote. “But their...

For Robert Spillane, one of the biggest moments in the New England Patriots’ wild card playoff win over the Los Angeles Chargers came midway through the first quarter.

Backed up after a Drake Maye interception, the team’s defense successfully kept the Chargers offense out of the end zone on back-to-back plays. On third down from the 3-yard line, however, Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert found an opening. Taking off through the left-side A-gap against a three-man rush, he had only one player between him and the first touchdown of the game.

That player was Marcus Jones, who is giving up 10...

The New England Patriots are moving on after picking up a wild-card victory over the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday.

New England scratched and clawed to slowly build its lead throughout what ultimately became a 16-3 victory at Gillette Stadium, setting up a playoff matchup with either the four-seed Pittsburgh Steelers or five-seed Houston Texans.

I’ve got your takeaways:

KUHR’S CURVEBALL

Zak Kuhr deserves his flowers.

Kuhr, who has just six seasons of coaching experience on the defensive side of the football, has been tasked with filling in for defensive coordinator Terrell Williams since Sept. 10.

It’s been an...

The New England Patriots advanced to the Divisional Round of the NFL Playoffs after taking down the Los Angeles Chargers 16-3 on Sunday night.

The Patriots’ defense played great on Sunday, helping pave the way to another home playoff game. Their defense caught the attention of Maxx Crosby, who shouted out K’Lavon Chaisson on X during the game.

Chaisson had a monster game for the Patriots. He recorded three total tackles and had two sacks. He has proven to be a great addition to the Patriots. This season, he had 7 1/2 sacks in 16 games.

He also had 10...

TEAM TALK

• Post Game Notes, Patriots-Chargers: Pats advance to 22nd Divisional playoff game, improve to 4-1 vs. Chargers in the postseason; Pats register six sacks vs. Chargers; hold opponent to just 3 points; More.
• Gamebook: Full Chargers at Patriots stats.
• Evan Lazar’s Game Observations: 8 takeaways from Sunday night’s Wild Card win. Play of the Game: Defense gets rolling with critical 4th-down stop in the Red Zone; More!
• Mike Dussault’s Rapid Recap: Chargers make Patriots earn every yard; More!
• Post Game Quotes: Patriots and Chargers.
• Post Game Pressers: Mike Vrabel – Drake Maye –...

New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel opened up on Drake Maye’s first playoff game in the team’s 16-3 win over the Los Angeles Chargers.

The Patriots’ defense was the story of the game, as the offense wasn’t as dominant as it’s been in the past couple of games. Maye ended up throwing for 268 yards, one touchdown, and an interception in the win.

Following the Patriots’ win, Vrabel said Maye did what the team needed him to do in the win.

“Yeah, I mean, again, we’ve got to take care of the football,” Vrabel said about Maye’s performance postgame...

The New England Patriots snapped a seven-year drought when earning a 16-3 postseason win over the Los Angeles Chargers. Sunday’s victory put them closer to reclaiming an NFL record.

New England’s official communications account noted that the Patriots notched their 38th all-time playoff win. That moves them past the Green Bay Packers, who were eliminated Saturday, for sole possession of second place.

The Patriots trail the San Francisco 49ers by one win for first place. San Francisco added to its milestone with a Wild Card Round victory over the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday.

The Pittsburgh Steelers also have a chance...

Mike Vrabel didn’t have any facial protection when Milton Williams headbutted him in the waning moments of Sunday’s win, but that was nary a concern for the Patriots’ defensive tackle. Or head coach, for that matter.

Williams, New England’s prized defensive addition over the offseason, was everything the Patriots needed him to be in the 16-3 Wild Card Round win over the Los Angeles Chargers. Most importantly, he had the game-sealing sack on Justin Herbert late in the fourth quarter.

After putting Herbert to the turf, Williams eventually was greeted on the sideline by Vrabel. Williams responded by butting his...

Former New England Patriots star Kyle Van Noy was thoroughly impressed with Milton Williams’ play on Sunday against the Los Angeles Chargers.

New England signed Williams this offseason to a four-year, $104 million contract after helping the Philadelphia Eagles win a Super Bowl. Williams was expected to anchor the defensive line, and he’s done just that.

In the Patriots’ wild-card game against the Chargers on Sunday, Williams finished with two sacks. Following the game, Van Noy took to X to praise the star defensive tackle.

“That’s too emotional from the feti man himself!,” Van Noy wrote on X. “Chargers exceeded...