Mike Vrabel shares early thoughts on Chargers matchup

New England Patriots coach Mike Vrabel shared his early thoughts on the wild-card matchup with the Los Angeles Chargers next Sunday night.

The Patriots secured the No. 2 seed in the playoffs by knocking off the Miami Dolphins at home in Week 18. Meanwhile, the Chargers decided to rest their starters, including quarterback Justin Herbert, which led to them falling in defeat to the Denver Broncos.

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Vrabel has faced the Chargers three times as a head coach, and he holds a 2-1 advantage in the head-to-head meetings. His last meeting against them came back in 2023, when he led the Tennessee Titans to a 27-24 victory in overtime.

This is new territory for his Patriots team, though, and the coach had strong praise for the current Chargers team.

“This is a big, physical football team. Big linemen," Vrabel said on The Greg Hill Show, via ESPN's Mike Reiss. "They have a big defensive lineman who plays fullback. The defense – play a very good style of football, make it hard on you, bunch of different mixed quarters coverages. The quarterback is as good any anybody, can scramble, is tough, can make the throws. Good, big receivers. It will be a big challenge to get going on these guys and learn who they are and try to put a plan together.”

The Chargers present a lot of problems for the Patriots on paper, but clear arguments could be made that the Patriots present a lot of issues for them as well.

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It's a tough matchup on paper that will play out in front of the Patriots' faithful at Gillette Stadium in the opening playoff round.

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This article originally appeared on Patriots Wire: Mike Vrabel shares early thoughts on Chargers matchup