Patriots links 1/08/26: Pats need all hands at their best for playoff run

TEAM TALK

• Patriots-Chargers Wild Card Injury Report.
• Evan Lazar’s Patriots Gameplan: 3 keys to victory in Sunday Night’s Wild Card matchup vs. the Chargers. “New England needs their top dawgs and their braintrust to outperform their counterparts.”
• Mike Dussault reports Rhamondre Stevenson became 6th Patriot to earn 2025 AFC Player of the Week.
• Alexandra Francisco says the Patriots are hosting a live ‘All Access Patriots Playoff Kickoff Party’ on Friday to celebrate the return of postseason football in Foxborough at Patriot Place. /Sweet!
• Transcripts: Mike Vrabel (Plus 13 min. video) and Drake Maye (Plus 10 min. video)
• Press Conferences: Stefon Diggs, Robert Spillane, Marcus Jones, and Christian Gonzalez.
• Throwback: 2005 Wild Card game – Patriots vs. Jaguars. (3 min. video)
• Patriots Unfiltered: Chargers preview, Vrabel presser/reaction, team news/updates. (2 hours)
• Patriots Catch-22: Evan Lazar and Alex Barth preview the Chargers, pick their ups and downs from Week 18, and discuss what the Pats need to fix to make a deep playoff run; League news; More. (2 hours)

LOCAL LINKS

• Andrew Callahan suggests if Mike Vrabel’s team is right about who they are, they will beat the Chargers.
• Karen Guregian writes about the inexperience of this Patriots team heading into the playoffs. ‘While Drake Maye has certainly produced in primetime games this season, the playoffs are a different animal.’
• Mark Daniels sees the Patriots run game peaking at the right time.
• Kayshon Boutte writes an excellent piece for The Players’ Tribune, “How the hell did I get here?” a story about his gambling addiction and where he is now, playing with gratitude for the team that stood by him.
• Doug Kyed highlights Drake Maye on what he hopes to prove to his teammates in the playoffs.
• Phil Perry looks at Drake Maye’s leadership style with his offense, that favors ‘communication over humiliation.’
• Doug Kyed says the narrative around Stefon Diggs has changed this season, but the Diggs contends that he’s the same guy. The perception of him came from people who don’t know him.
• Alex Barth mentions the team is dealing with illness as prep for Sunday night begins.
• Alex Barth notes LB Robert Spillane gives an update on his status for Sunday, says he’s ready to go.
• Ian Logue’s Patriots Notebook: A couple of surprising trends.
• Jerry Thornton looks back fondly at all the times John Harbaugh accused the Patriots of cheating.
• Next Pats podcast: Phil Perry talks with Brian Hoyer about coverage reads vs. pure progressions: Why Drake Maye and Josh McDaniels are THRIVING. (39 min. video)

NATIONAL NEWS

• Bill Barnwell (ESPN) NFL playoff bracket predictions: Scores, Super Bowl LX pick. Wild Card: Patriots win 21-13. /Click for commentary.
• Tom Blair, et al (NFL.com) Playoff predictions: Winners for every game, from Wild Card Weekend through Super Bowl LX. Patriots beat the Chargers, Jaguars and Texans then lose to the Rams in the Super Bowl.
• **MMQB...