Jan. 10, 2026, 8:01 a.m. ET
The New England Patriots will not be playing on Saturday.
Their wild-card playoff game against the Los Angeles Chargers is slated for Sunday at 8 p.m. ET. This will be the first playoff game for the Patriots since the 2021 season. It will also be their chance to record a playoff victory for the first time since winning Super Bowl LIII.
Few expected the Patriots to have the kind of turnaround year they had after back-to-back 4-13 regular-season finishes.
Yet, after hiring Mike Vrabel as the new head coach and bringing back Josh McDaniels as offensive coordinator, along with Drake Maye experiencing a major second-year leap at quarterback, the Patriots finished with a 14-3 record.
The Chargers are a banged-up 11-6 team with plenty of talent on the field. Justin Herbert has been exceptional at quarterback, and the defense is one of the best in the league. They also have an incredible head coach in Jim Harbaugh.
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It all sets the stage for a tremendous matchup on Sunday featuring two talented AFC opponents in primetime.
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