The New England Patriots were well represented at the wild-card game between the four-seed Pittsburgh Steelers and five-seed Houston Texans on Monday Night Football.

New England sent director of pro personnel A.J. Highsmith and pro scout Bob Kronenberg to Acrisure Stadium, according to ESPN’s Mike Reiss.

Highsmith, 35, was hired shortly following the arrival of head coach Mike Vrabel, capping off stints with the San Francisco 49ers, Buffalo Bills and Tennessee Titans by joining his father, Alonso, in New England — replacing former director of player personnel Patrick Stewart.

Kronenberg, 54, was hired in 2024 following a stint with the...

The Patriots defense made the Chargers offense look terrible on Sunday night — but how?

Well, they apparently rendered Los Angeles’ players nearly clueless throughout the 16-3 wild-card victory at Gillette Stadium.

New England’s defense limited the Chargers to just 207 net yards while racking up six sacks and forcing one turnover. Star quarterback Justin Herbert completed 19 of 31 passes for just 159 yards and zero touchdowns while leading his offense to just one third-down conversion on 10 attempts.

During a postgame news conference, Patriots linebacker Robert Spillane praised defensive play-caller Zak Kuhr and revealed a stunning admission that...

Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert went 19-for-31 with 159 scoreless passing yards during the team’s 16-3 loss in the AFC wild-card round vs. the New England Patriots on Sunday night.

Behind an injury-ravaged offensive line and still recovering from a recent hand injury, Herbert took six sacks for 39 yards and committed two fumbles, losing one of them.

Still, Chargers center Bradley Bozeman wasn’t going to let anyone bash his quarterback in the wake of the loss.

Bozeman argued that Herbert not only was a better signal-caller than New England Patriots MVP candidate Drake Maye, but the former AP...

The New England Patriots ensured a painful ending to the 2025 season for Justin Herbert and the Los Angeles Chargers.

Herbert, who played through a broken left hand, took a beating in Sunday night’s 16-3 Wild Card Round loss. The Patriots capitalized on an offensive line missing star tackles Joe Alt and Rashawn Slater by hitting Herbert 11 times and producing six sacks.

Dan Le Batard, host of his “Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz,” blamed Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh for placing Herbert in an adverse situation.

“I believe that Harbaugh should be indicted for threat, for manslaughter and...

Welcome to the NFL playoffs. Welcome to our first postseason rooting guide of the year.

The New England Patriots entered the tournament on Sunday night, hosting the seventh-seeded Los Angeles Chargers at Gillette Stadium. They took care of business, winning the contest with a final score of 16-3.

With that said, here is our rooting guide for the remaining game of the wild card round — one that will determine who the Patriots are going to play in the divisional round.

Saturday

Los Angeles Rams (5) at Carolina Panthers (4) | LA 34, CAR 31

**Green Bay Packers (7)...

The New England Patriots may have finalized a 53-man roster out of training camp, but that team was not set in stone. By Week 1, there had already been several moves — a trend that only continued since and will do so through the rest of the season.

In order to stay on top of all the news and movement, here is our up-to-date breakdown of the the Patriots’ roster, practice squad and injury lists for this season.

Patriots updated roster: 52 players

Quarterback (3): Drake Maye (10), Joshua Dobbs (11), Tommy DeVito (16)

Running back (3): Rhamondre Stevenson...

The AFC East champions will turn the page to the divisional round with an opening on the 53-man roster.

The New England Patriots announced the waiving of running back D’Ernest Johnson on Monday, currently leaving the active depth chart in the hands of starter Rhamondre Stevenson and rookie TreVeyon Henderson.

Johnson, 29, had been promoted from the practice squad in December after serving as a three-time standard elevation. The 5-foot-11, 205-pound vested veteran’s stay in Foxborough got underway in October. He has appeared eight games, including Sunday night’s 16-3 win over the Los Angeles Chargers in the wild card. Along...

The Los Angeles Chargers were ultimately crushed in their wild-card matchup against the New England Patriots on Sunday.

It’s probably a tough pill to swallow, which is why we got some ludicrous explanations postgame…

“I feel like we’re a better team, and on any other day, we beat them,” Chargers linebacker Odafe Oweh said following the game, as transcribed by ESPN’s Kris Rhim. “We just ain’t have it today, so that’s the more annoying part.”

Oweh finished with three sacks in the loss, so he had every right to feel like he deserved more than a two-score loss, but the...

The New England Patriots cruised to a 16-3 win over the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday night to advance to the divisional round of the 2025 NFL Playoffs. The Patriots’ defense dominated this game, thanks in large part to a slew of injuries the Chargers were dealing with along their defensive line.

Los Angeles spent much of the season playing without its top two tackles on the offensive line in Rashawn Slater and Joe Alt. While Slater missed the entire year, Alt managed to suit up for just six games before he suffered a season-ending ankle injury early in November....

Mike Vrabel won’t join the masses in worrying about the New England Patriots’ strength of schedule.

The Patriots went 2-2 against fellow playoff teams during the regular season with just one victory over a winning squad. They justified their postseason spot with a 16-3 win over the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday night.

Vrabel was asked during Monday’s press conference, per the team transcript, what the first-round win says about his team amid the schedule chatter. The head coach sidestepped the debate by pointing out the most important takeaway from their triumph.

“It means we get to keep playing,” Vrabel...

The New England Patriots made some roster moves following their wild-card victory over the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday.

New England announced the release of running back D’Ernest Johnson from the active roster and offensive lineman Sebastian Gutierrez from the practice squad on Monday.

Johnson and Gutierrez being cut loose opens up space for some potential returns, with cornerback Alex Austin eligible to be activated off injured reserve and cornerback Miles Battle likely to be brought back to the practice squad — both of which would be important given the current status of cornerback Christian Gonzalez.

Gonzalez, who was named...

The Patriots secured an extra week in their season by defeating the Los Angeles Chargers 16-3 on Sunday. As New England is getting ready for its upcoming opponent, it’s likely also keeping an eye on potential players it could consider adding in the NFL Draft.

Pro Football Focus’ Max Chadwick released a mock draft on Monday, featuring the Patriots selecting Clemson edge rusher T.J. Parker with the 30th pick.

“The Patriots don’t have a single edge defender who’s in the top 40 of PFF grade this year,” Chadwick wrote. “Parker has been incredibly productive throughout his career at Clemson, posting...