The Los Angeles Chargers reached the playoffs early in Week 17 of the NFL with a commanding away win at the New England Patriots on Saturday.
NFL Week 17: Saturday’s games in the roundup
Los Angeles Chargers (10-6) @ New England Patriots (3-13)
Result: 40:7 (7:0, 13:7, 10:0, 10:0) BOXSCORE
- The Los Angeles Chargers secured their ticket to the playoffs with their confident away win over the Patriots. The Patriots, in turn, have secured a draft pick in the top 5 thanks to this defeat.
- Justin Herbert dominated this game and had little trouble with a weak Patriots pass rush that managed four QB hits. Herbert threw for 281 yards and 3 touchdowns. Meanwhile, wide receiver Ladd McConkey, who the Patriots waived in the last draft, led his team with 94 yards and 2 touchdowns.
- With this performance, McConkey set two rookie records for the Chargers: His 77 receptions are a new record, as are his 1,054 receiving yards.
- The Patriots had to worry early about Drake Maye, who was checked for a concussion after a hit to the head. However, he returned a little later and led his team to a remarkable 36-yard touchdown from Pop Douglas. However, he was otherwise constantly under pressure and recorded four sacks and was repeatedly faced with free rushers.
- Meanwhile, head coach Jerod Mayo’s statement to a radio station before the game caused a stir, according to which running back Rhamondre Stevenson was relegated to the bench and Antonio Gibson was supposed to start. In the end Stevenson started.
- The Patriots only had the ball for 19:26 minutes. This was the second time this season that they held the ball for less than 20 minutes. This had not happened to them twice in a season since at least 1984, when data collection began.
Denver Broncos (9-7) @ Cincinnati Bengals (8-8)
Result: 24:30 (OT) (3:0, 0:7, 7:3, 14:14, 0:6) BOXSCORE
- After an almost unbelievable sequence in the final period and overtime, the Cincinnati Bengals kept their season alive and the playoff race in the AFC open. In the end it was Tee Higgins who decided the game after a touchdown pass from Joe Burrow 1:07 minutes before the end of overtime.
- The Bengals had taken the lead on a Burrow tush-push touchdown with 1:29 left, but left too much time on the clock, so the Broncos responded: On 4th down, Bo Nix, under pressure, threw a 25-yard touchdown -Pass to Marvin Mims to tie the score with eight seconds to play.
- The Bengals then came close to winning in overtime, but kicker Cade York made a 33-yard field goal attempt on Cincy’s second possession against the upright. Doink! And the game continued. A tie would have been enough for the Broncos, but they failed to take much time off the clock before punting again. Then Burrow got serious and finally found Higgins for a 31-yard pass at the 3rd and shortly afterwards he threw the TD pass for the victory.
- With this result, not only do the Bengals stay alive in the AFC playoff picture, but so do the Colts and Dolphins. Higgins excelled with 131 yards (11 REC) and 3 touchdowns. Ja’Marr Chase caught nine passes for 103 yards and now has 117 receptions this season, surpassing TJ Houshmandzadeh’s team record (112) with one game left to play.