Can the Patriots play spoiler to the Chargers in Week 17?
FOXBORO -- The New England Patriots have just two games left in a disappointing 2024 season, and both of their remaining matchups are against AFC playoff teams. While the 3-12 Pats don't have much to play for, they would like to play a little spoiler to close out the season, starting Saturday afternoon against the Los Angeles Chargers.
"We've had those conversations. I would also say it just goes back to whoever's playing the best that day is going to win the football game," New England head coach Jerod Mayo said of that spoiler role. "What you did last week or the week before really doesn't matter, and that's the beauty about this game."
The Chargers can officially become a playoff team in Jim Harbaugh's first season with a win on Saturday and a Dolphins loss or tie and a Colts loss or tie on Sunday. It would be their first playoff berth since the 2022 season.
The Patriots are just hoping to finish strong and build toward the 2025 season. The future seems bright with Drake Maye at quarterback, but there is still a lot of unknown on the sideline.
It seems like Jerod Mayo is safe after last Sunday's surprising effort in Buffalo, but his coordinators are likely still on the hot seat. So Alex Van Pelt potentially needs another solid game from the offense, while DeMarcus Covington needs a good showing against Justin Herbert and a talented Chargers offense to keep their jobs.
Here's what we'll be watching for when the Patriots and the Chargers kick off the NFL's Saturday slate for Week 17.
Will the Patriots stop turning the ball over?
Maye had a beautiful 28-yard touchdown to Kayshon Boutte last weekend in Buffalo, giving the rookie a touchdown pass in seven straight games. That tied Jim Plunkett's 1971 record for the longest such streak by a rookie in Patriots franchise history.
That is a great streak for Maye to be riding. But he's also riding a much less flattering streak for the New England offense, with seven straight games with an interception.
If Maye -- who has 10 interceptions on the year -- throws a pick in an eighth straight game on Saturday, it would tie Hugh Millen's franchise record that he set back in 1991. And the Chargers defense has been getting the football a lot this season.
Los Angeles has 19 takeaways -- 14 interceptions and five fumbles -- and is a plus-10 in the turnover differential department, which is tied for the fourth-best in the NFL. Rookie corner Tarheeb Steel leads the Chargers with four interceptions on the year, with three of them coming in the previous four games. Veteran corner Elijah Molden has three picks on the season, but hasn't had one since Week 9.
Mayo hinted at benching running back Rhamondre Stevenson and giving Antonio Gibson the start out of the New England backfield on Saturday. Stevenson lost his third fumble of the season last Sunday in Buffalo, and has put the ball on the ground seven times this season. Ball security is job security, and Stevenson is likely going to take a seat on the bench for the second time this season to start Saturday's game.
The Patriots have very little margin of error to begin with, so they really cannot afford to give the Chargers any extra possessions this weekend. It'd be nice if they could actually win the turnover battle, but Herbert has thrown just three interceptions this season.
Making it count in the red zone
Just about everything has been a struggle for the New England offense, but life has gotten extremely difficult whenever the team gets into the red zone. The Patriots have scored touchdowns on just 47.73 percent of their trips inside the 20 this season, which ranks 30th in the NFL. They've found paydirt on just 45.45 percent of their trips inside the red zone at home this season, which is the fifth-worst in the league.
The Pats have been a little bit better in that department in recent weeks, going 2-for-3 in their red zone trips against both the Bills and the Cardinals. But we saw those struggles on full display at the end of last Sunday's loss in Buffalo, when it took Maye and company nine plays to get into the end zone from the four-yard line.
This weekend, the Patriots are going against an incredibly stingy Chargers defense that really locks down when their backs are against the wall. Los Angeles has allowed touchdowns on just 44.74 percent of their opponents trips inside the red zone, which ranks No. 1 in the NFL.
Want to start building something good for next season? A great start would be the Patriots getting into the end zone in the red area.
Cole Strange at center?
With Ben Brown ruled out Saturday because of a concussion, the Patriots may start their fourth different center of the season in converted guard Cole Strange. It would be the first game for Strange in over a year, as he hasn't played since suffering a devastating knee injury against the Kansas City Chiefs last December.
Brown has started 10 straight games for the Patriots at center and did a pretty good job stabilizing the position after David Andrews was lost to injury and Nick Leverett was released. Now the Patriots might get a look at what Strange can do in the position, after he spent his first two NFL seasons at guard.
Strange has been putting in work at center during practice but has never played the position in an NFL game. He expressed confidence in himself in making the change earlier this week, but there is a lot that can go wrong at that position. Brown had a pair of bad snaps in Arizona because of a towel attached to his belt, so things can go awry real quick at that spot.
But the Patriots want to see what they have in Strange at center, so he'll get some on-the-job training to potentially close the season. Hopefully it doesn't throw Maye out of rhythm -- or put the rookie in more perilous situations.
The Patriots also have backup Lecitus Smith to potentially start or take over for Strange if he struggles with the switch.
Ladd McConkey
Patriots fans are familiar with the name Ladd McConkey, even though he's been catching a lot of passes in Los Angeles this season. He could have been catching passes in New England, but Eliot Wolf traded down and out of the 34th pick on Day 2 of the NFL Draft and sent it to the Chargers.
Los Angeles drafted McConkey with that selection, and he's become the No. 1 option for Herbert this season. He leads the Chargers with 69 receptions for 960 yards, and his five touchdowns are second on the team behind the eight TD catches by Quentin Johnson.
The Patriots, meanwhile, ended up with Ja'Lynn Polk with the 37th overall pick, and it's been ... a disaster. He has just 12 catches on the season for 87 yards, which is a regular day at the office for McConkey. The two teams also swapped later-round picks in that trade, and the Patriots used their fourth-round selection on Javon Baker. He has zero receptions on just two targets this season.
The Patriots and New England fans will get a first-hand look at what could have been with McConkey on Saturday. Maybe that will lead to Polk and/or potentially Baker stepping up in the passing game for the first time all year, but that is likely just wishful thinking.
We'll get you ready for Saturday's Patriots-Chargers game with Patriots GameDay at 11:30 a.m. on WBZ-TV! After the game, switch over to TV38 for full reaction and analysis on Patriots 5th Quarter!
