The Los Angeles Chargers are in the AFC Divisional Round for the first time since 2013, and they are about to face their toughest opponent yet in the New England Patriots.
The Patriots will host the Chargers at Gillette Stadium on Sunday afternoon, and New England fans have every reason to be confident in their team's chances of reaching an eighth consecutive AFC Championship Game.
Patriots quarterback Tom Brady has never lost to Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers in his career. Take a look at his head-to-head stats versus Rivers in the tweet below:
https://twitter.com/ftbeard_17/status/1082029356254294016
Looks great, right? Well, they don't look as good when you separate the playoff performances.
Brady is 2-0 in his playoff career against Rivers and the Chargers, beating them in the 2006 Divisional Round and the 2007 AFC Championship Game. He played poorly in those games, though. Here are his playoff stats against the Chargers:
--58.3 completion percentage
--489 yards
--4 touchdown passes
--6 interceptions
--61.1 QB rating
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Those are some ugly stats for Brady, who rarely makes mistakes when it matters most. And he won't have an easy time Sunday against an elite Chargers pass rush led by Joey Bosa and Melvin Ingram.
The Patriots need a much better playoff performance from Brady to beat this Chargers team and reach the AFC Championship Game.
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