New England Patriots team grades vs Los Angeles Chargers
. PASSING DEFENSE GRADE. A-. .
New England’s pass defense was decimated by injury once again. With Stephon Gilmore and Eric Rowe sidelined, it would take a team effort once again to slow down the talented passing offense led by Philip Rivers.
No one would have been surprised if the Chargers found some success against the Patriots secondary. Keenan Allen, Travis Benjamin, Mike Williams, Tyrell Williams, Hunter Henry and Antonio Gates are a handful to slow down. That didn’t matter to New England, who put together a strong pass defense performance for a second consecutive week.
The Patriots held Rivers to only 212 yards, as he completed 17-of-30 for one touchdown and one interception. The Patriots erased Henry and Gates, as the two combined for four receptions for 36 yards.
The only player to really hurt the Patriots was Benjamin. He had a touchdown called back by a questionable pick play in the third quarter, but scored later in the game anyway. Benjamin finished with five receptions for 64 yards and the touchdown. Benjamin would hand the Patriots a huge gift, which we will get to later on.
Allen was only targeted five times, catching four of them for 61 yards. He made a number of impressive catches along the sideline to help move the chains.