FOXBORO — Mike Vrabel didn’t have time to rewatch all of the Chargers’ games from this season before he met with reporters Monday morning, but he clearly came away impressed with what he saw from the Patriots’ wild-card round opponents.

The Patriots head coach said Monday morning on WEEI that the Chargers are a team constructed for the playoffs.

“I will just tell you that they play great defense,” Vrabel said Monday morning to reporters. “They’re very sound. They’re good tacklers. They’re physical. They get off the field on third down. They’re good in the red zone. They run the football. It’s a physical football team. They possess the football. They lead the NFL in time of possession. They have very good quarterback play. They’re well coached. They play with technique and fundamentals. The game, it doesn’t – they don’t panic one way or the other. They kind of stick to their game plan, wear you down and execute in critical situations. So, a lot of respect for them and certainly what they’ve done in a short amount of time.”

The Chargers, who will play the Patriots at Gillette Stadium, are led by one of the NFL’s best quarterbacks in Justin Herbert and an experienced head coach in Jim Harbaugh. Their defense has been a major strength this season, especially in the second half of the season.

“I haven’t gone through the entire first half of their defense, just the last couple games here already this morning. They don’t give up a whole lot of first downs,” Vrabel said. “Stingy. You’re going to get everything that you earn. You’re going to have to earn it. They’re just not going to give it to you. They’re very sound in that regard. So, we’ll have to have great execution, make great decisions and be able to put some drives together to sustain. They’re just not going to hand you two X plays down to the 1-yard line.”

Vrabel interviewed with the Chargers for their head coaching vacancy during the 2024 offseason. He said their decision to pick Harbaugh over him will not serve as extra motivation.

“No. Everything that I do and every second that I spend preparing will be to help the players,” Vrabel said. “That’s a well-run organization. The Spanos family is a good one. But no, that’s no extra motivation.”

The Patriots should feel fortunate that the Chargers went in a different direction. Vrabel led his new organization to a 4-13 to 14-3 turnaround.