NFL, American Football Herren, USA 2024: Chargers vs Patriots DEC 28 December 28, 2024 Foxborough, MA, USA Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert 10 and New England Patriots tight end Hunter Henry 85 at the conclusion of the NFL game between Los Angeles Chargers and New England Patriots in Foxborough, MA. Anthony Nesmith/CSM Credit Image: Anthony Nesmith/Cal Media Foxborough Massachusetts United States EDITORIAL USE ONLY Copyright: xx ZUMA-20241228_zma_c04_216.jpg AnthonyxNesmithx csmphotothree338192
NFL, American Football Herren, USA 2024: Chargers vs Patriots DEC 28 December 28, 2024 Foxborough, MA, USA Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert 10 and New England Patriots tight end Hunter Henry 85 at the conclusion of the NFL game between Los Angeles Chargers and New England Patriots in Foxborough, MA. Anthony Nesmith/CSM Credit Image: Anthony Nesmith/Cal Media Foxborough Massachusetts United States EDITORIAL USE ONLY Copyright: xx ZUMA-20241228_zma_c04_216.jpg AnthonyxNesmithx csmphotothree338192
Jan 12, 2026, 3:15 AM CUT
NFL Playoffs Patriots vs. Chargers Halftime Report: Dull Start as Both teams Struggle for Points
The first-ever Wild Card meeting between the New England Patriots and the Los Angeles Chargers has started on a slow note. Both teams failed to score a touchdown in the first half.
In the Patriots’ first drive, Drake Maye moved the offense with a great mixture of offense, with Stefon Diggs and Rhamdore Stevenson at his helm. However, Los Angeles’ Odafe Oweh registered another sack to stop the momentum.
This was the 23-year-old’s 48th touchdown of the season. Los Angeles successfully forced a turnover. Although both Maye and Herbert scored multiple first downs, they were unable to open their respective teams’ accounts.
At the end of the first quarter, the Patriots’ young QB got sacked again, this time by Tuipulotu, who registered his 14th sack of the season. The rather dull game finally saw a score at 13:32 of the second quarter, with Borregales converting a 23-yard field goal, his first in the postseason.
The Chargers fired back straight away with a field goal in their next drive. Cameron Dicker comfortably converted a 21-yard field goal to settle the score between the two teams.
Borregales gave the lead back to the Patriots, scoring another field goal for 35 yards. At the end of the first half, the score remains 6-3 in New England’s favour.
Comparing both Quarterbacks’ performances at the end of the first half
Both quarterbacks are aiming for their first-ever win in the postseason. Maye had scored 31 touchdowns for 4394 passing yards coming into this game.
Meanwhile, Herbert has also had a wonderful season so far, hauling in 3727 passing yards and scoring 26 touchdowns. However, both of them have failed find the playzone so far.
Talking about Maye, he has had an average outing so far. The second-year QB completed only 6 out of 15 passes, which is not good from a QB with the highest pass completion rate in the season. He threw for 95 passing yards and got sacked twice.
In terms of the pass completion rate, Herbert was decent, completing ten out of 13 passes. Unfortunately, he was also sacked twice, throwing for only 93 passing yards.
With both defenses seeming unpenetrable, who will score the first touchdown? Let us know in the comments!
Written by
Kalp Thaker
Edited by
Oajaswini Prabhu