It’s official.
The Patriots will host the Chargers in the Wild Card round of the playoffs next weekend at Gillette Stadium.
The Patriots clinched the No. 2 seed in the AFC bracket with Sunday’s 38-10 win over Miami, while a backup-laden Chargers team dropped to the seventh seed after a 19-3 loss at Denver.
The Patriots (14-3) will play at home for the entire AFC playoffs unless they meet the Broncos in the AFC Championship Game. This is their first trip to the postseason in four years, and next weekend will feature their first home playoff game since Jan. 2020.
The Chargers (11-6) are led by Pro Bowl quarterback Justin Hebert, who completed 66.4% of his passes for 3,727 yards, 26 touchdowns and 13 interceptions this year despite a lingering hand injury and poor pass protection. Entering Sunday, when Herbert sat in favor of backup Trey Lance, Los Angeles ranked 17th in points scored and seventh in points allowed. The Chargers are making their second straight postseason run under second-year head coach Jim Harbaugh, who has one career Super Bowl appearance from his tenure as the head coach in San Francisco.
The Pats and Chargers did not play in the regular season. Their last meeting came on Dec. 28, 2024, when Los Angeles slammed the Pats 40-7 in a game that sealed the fate of then head coach Jerod Mayo. Patriots quarterback Drake Maye went 12-of-22 for 117 yards and a touchdown, while taking four sacks and rushing for 32 yards.
If the Patriots win next weekend, they will host the highest-seeded team remaining in the divisional round, which could mean fellow division winners Jacksonville or Baltimore/Pittsburgh, pending the outcome of Sunday night’s game.
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