The Patriots go into their Wild Card matchup against the Chargers as the current betting favorites to emerge victorious and face their next opponent in the divisional round, something nobody predicted going into the 2025 season.
They have a chance to completely end any and all doubt surrounding their competitiveness with a win against a strong Los Angeles team, and they will have the support of 65,000 Patriots fans in Gillette Stadium to get it done. But that won't be all they need to continue their unbelievable playoff run, as Randy Moss identified one factor we'll need to see to secure the win.
Mike Vrabel's team has already exceeded expectations, shown they are the real deal, and earned every bit to be the No. 2 seed in the AFC playoff picture.
But now they'll need to exemplify something that could separate them from their opponent, and that could be the biggest determining factor in how the game ends on Sunday night.
Randy Moss knows what the Patriots need to continue their playoff dreams
While discussing what needs to happen in the game, Moss stated "toughness" will show up on the field and be the reason the Patriots get a win.
He credits Vrabel for making his former team a competitive group already, with a roster wanting to play hard for their head coach, and believes we will see even more toughness from them on a cold Sunday night in Foxborough.
"I think toughness is going to really show up."@RandyMoss on the Patriots ahead of their Wild Card matchup against the Chargers 🏈 pic.twitter.com/E27DUdHJyr
— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) January 11, 2026
As the Hall of Famer said, the Patriots have shown incredible toughness throughout the season, especially given how many players have suffered injuries and the amount of doubt from onlookers about their success.
Not only have they defied the odds to reach 14 wins and just three losses, but Drake Maye has had one of the most impressive sophomore seasons by a quarterback in the history of the league, and much of that is because of Vrabel and his coaching staff, on top of the roster they built during the offseason.
All of that will be tested in the biggest game of their season on Sunday, and they are more than capable of dominating a beat-up Chargers team, led by an injured quarterback.
But as Moss said, they'll need that toughness throughout all four quarters, especially if they fall behind or find it difficult to establish the run game. But hopefully, none of that will be a problem.