Chargers vs. Patriots: 5 biggest storylines ahead of wild-card game

Omarion Hampton’s status

Hampton did not practice on Wednesday with an ankle injury, which he suffered in Week 17 to the opposite ankle of the one he fractured earlier in the season. That injury is of real concern to the Chargers, who struggled to get the ground game going (albeit with a backup offensive line) against Denver last week with Kimani Vidal and Jaret Patterson. Los Angeles has famously struggled to run the ball in their recent playoff contests, and Hampton would be a crucial piece to allow the Chargers offense to open up a bit more and stress the Patriots defense downfield.

Elite quarterback play

Patriots quarterback Drake Maye is one of the favorites for the MVP award after a stellar sophomore season under first-year head coach Mike Vrabel, as the North Carolina product leads the league in EPA per play, completion percentage over expectation, and QBR. But perhaps no player in the league has overcome as much as Justin Herbert this season, considering the Chargers quarterback has had a league-high 32 offensive line combinations in front of him this year and will be without Rashawn Slater, Joe Alt, and potentially Jamaree Salyer (hamstring) and/or Austin Deculus (oblique) on Sunday. Herbert has thrown 10 touchdowns outside the pocket, under pressure, and on the run, all three of which are at least tied for the league lead.

Who gets home more?

Herbert and Maye have been sacked the third- and fourth-most times of any quarterback in the league with 54 and 47, respectively. The Chargers have a stronger pass rush – Tuli Tuipulotu is a Pro Bowler, Odafe Oweh had 7.5 sacks in 12 games in LA, Justin Eboigbe flashed with 6 sacks, and Khalil Mack had 5.5 – but New England is getting healthier on the line with the recent return of left tackle Will Campbell. New England did not have a rusher reach more than 8.5 sacks, totaling only 35 on the year (21st in the NFL), but they’ll face a banged-up Chargers offensive line, which could even the matchup between these two pass rushes.

Keep the pace

The Chargers are second in the NFL in time per offensive drive (3:11) and fifth in plays per drive (6.5), while the defense is fifth in time per offensive drive allowed (2:40) and fourth in plays per drive allowed (5.7). Only the Bills average a higher time of possession than Los Angeles at 32:32. New England isn’t astronomically far behind in sixth at 31:17, but LA has shown the ability to control the flow of games and dictate their terms of engagement. Doing so on Sunday, especially with an MVP candidate on the other side of the field, will go a long way.

Early defense

Jesse Minter’s defense has been excellent this season, but LA has had a bad habit of getting off to slow starts before making mid-game adjustments on defense. They gave up 14 first-quarter points to Houston and 10 to Denver over the last two weeks before clamping down for the rest of those contests, but an offense like New England’s is not likely to miss those opportunities either. The Chargers will have to come out hot, especially as the road team, to stay in control as the game goes on.