The New England Patriots may not have had the usual virtuoso performance from MVP candidate Drake Maye in their postseason win against the Los Angeles Chargers, but they were able to hold Justin Herbert to just three points as a result of an utterly dominant defensive showing.
Patriots linebacker Robert Spillane was eager to tell the tale of just how dominant his team was in this win, but he may have revealed a very inconvenient truth that could end up getting a Chargers coach fired due to how poorly it reflects on them.
Spillane said that multiple Chargers players approached him after the game and implied that they had no idea how to effectively slow down the Patriots' coverages. While interim DC Zak Kuhr, who is filling in for Terrell Williams as he nurses his way back to health, deserves credit for this, these revelations look horrible for Chargers OC Greg Roman.
#Patriots LB Robert Spillane says Chargers players told him after the game they had no clue what coverage New England was running.
— Carlos A. Lopez (@LosTalksPats) January 12, 2026
“After the game, talking to a few of the guys on the other team, they had no clue what we were doing. They came up and said that.”
(🎥 @Patriots) pic.twitter.com/V1YqqYb9Nq
After hearing just how thoroughly Spillane and the defense had the Chargers' offense in a headlock for four quarters, it seems like a virtual certainty that Los Angeles will move on from Roman after another early playoff exit marred by offensive struggles.
Patriots LB Robert Spillaine said Chargers had no idea how to beat New England defense
Kuhr deserves oodles of credit for the job he has done with this team. With Williams recovering and the defense as a whole suffering from a below-average pass rush, Kuhr has given the defense enough of a schematic edge to keep pace with Maye and the offense.
However, it doesn't take much to outsmart a coach in Roman who is so incredibly behind the times. Herbert deserves the lion's share of the blame for this performance as the quarterback, but he wasn't given much to work with from a clearly overwhelmed offensive staff.
The confusion combined with an offensive line that had no interest in slowing down the New England pass rush and a quarterback in Herbert who was off all night when throwing down the field was enough to give the Patriots a win, irrespective of how well Maye played against Jesse Minter.
The Patriots' defense was so dominant in this game that they may have ended up doing the Chargers a favor in the long run, as their bludgeoning of Herbert and the offensive line may have been the wake-up call LA needed to can Roman and hire their Josh McDaniels.