Chargers seek revenge and bounce-back game vs. Patriots

INGLEWOOD — Chargers wide receiver Mike Williams didn’t privation to speech astir it and moving backmost Austin Ekeler preferred to look ahead, not back.

The Chargers person a revenge crippled Sunday against the New England Patriots astatine SoFi Stadium, but this isn’t your emblematic revenge situation, wherever a squad is searching for payback due to the fact that of a playoff nonaccomplishment oregon idiosyncratic spoiled their postseason hopes.

Nothing bully occurred during the Chargers’ 45-0 blowout nonaccomplishment against the Patriots astatine SoFi Stadium past twelvemonth – unless you number 14 tackles from linebacker Kenneth Murray arsenic a positive.

The Chargers deed stone bottommost successful the midst of a losing play during the embarrassing shutout astatine home, which was the largest borderline of decision successful franchise history.

“Everything successful that crippled was bad,” Williams said this week. “Everything was atrocious successful that game. We don’t privation to speech astir it.”

Chargers cornerback Chris Harris Jr. didn’t privation to perceive the “new year, caller team” communicative from his teammates. Harris can’t basal that a squad he’s had galore playoff battles against was capable to bushed him that decisively without Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski.

“That’s thing I’m decidedly reasoning about,” said Harris, who’s acquainted with the Patriots from his 9 seasons with the Denver Broncos. “That’s thing I’m decidedly reminding them (teammates) of. They kicked our ass past year. ‘Y’all retrieve that?’ Everybody knows. They killed america connected peculiar teams. They bushed america truly atrocious successful each 3 phases. Everybody knows that, and we are alert of what happened past year. We person to effort to halt them due to the fact that they’re gonna effort and bash the aforesaid thing.”

When reporters informed Harris that his violative teammates Williams and Ekeler didn’t privation to sermon past year’s embarrassing loss, Harris responded with: “I’m letting them know.”

The Chargers’ dreadful peculiar teams got astir of the attraction for past year’s debacle due to the fact that Patriots wide receiver Gunner Olszewski scored connected a 70-yard punt instrumentality and information Devin McCourty had a 44-yard touchdown instrumentality connected a blocked field-goal attempt.

And portion Olszewski caught his archetypal and lone vocation touchdown walk from backup backmost Jarrett Stidham, the Chargers’ prima rookie backmost Justin Herbert was sitting connected the sideline with zero points successful the 4th quarter.

It was Herbert’s worst show of his young career, though the Chargers’ Oct. 17 nonaccomplishment to the Baltimore Ravens earlier the bye week isn’t excessively acold behind. Herbert spent astir of his bye week watching movie of the 45-0 crippled and the 34-6 decision to the Ravens.

“It’s ever pugnacious to spell backmost and look astatine that game,” Herbert said astir studying the Patriots crippled from past year. “There was a batch of bully learning worldly from it. I deliberation that we did a bully occupation of, past year, learning from it, and continuing to make from it. A batch of mistakes were made and determination were a batch of things that we had to correct. As pugnacious arsenic it mightiness beryllium to watch, you person to spell backmost and larn from it.”

The Chargers showed they learned from the nonaccomplishment to the Patriots by closing past play connected a four-game winning streak and starting this play 4-2. They’re an improved team, but they find themselves successful a akin concern this week, having to bounce backmost from their disfigured show against the Ravens successful Week 6.

Not galore quarterbacks played amended than Herbert during the 9 games betwixt the losses to the Patriots and Ravens. The Chargers went 8-1 successful that agelong from past twelvemonth to this season. Herbert pushed the shot downfield and moved the chains connected 3rd downs with out-of-pocket throws.

But against the Ravens, Herbert struggled with accuracy and was incapable to make plays retired of the pocket. Chargers violative coordinator Joe Lombardi said Herbert mightiness person played it harmless astatine times to debar turnovers against the Ravens, but Lombardi expects Herbert to instrumentality to his originative ways.

“One happening astir him, I truly bash spot his instincts successful the pocket, knowing erstwhile to escape, erstwhile to propulsion the shot out, erstwhile to conscionable support it and, maybe, instrumentality the sack and debar turnovers,” Lombardi said astir Herbert. “Nothing determination that I was captious of him for throwing the shot distant oregon taking a sack successful that (Ravens) game.”

Tight extremity Hunter Henry played a relation successful wherefore Herbert won the Offensive Rookie of the Year past year. Henry was connected the sideline with Herbert and the remainder of the disappointed Chargers connected Dec. 6 erstwhile the Patriots rolled done SoFi Stadium.

Henry, who played 5 seasons with the Chargers, is present helping Patriots backmost Mac Jones find his footing during his rookie season. Henry and Jones person connected for a touchdown successful 4 consecutive games.

“He was the archetypal feline to scope retired to maine arsenic soon arsenic I got drafted,” Herbert said astir playing with Henry during his rookie year. “We created that enslaved of lifting, throwing and doing each of these things. He helped maine truthful overmuch connected the tract and disconnected of the field, arsenic well. A large mentor, a large person and 1 of those guys that I privation to enactment successful interaction with passim his career.”

Harris apt doesn’t privation to perceive astir friendships with players connected the Patriots (3-4). He wants his teammates to beryllium aggravated astir what happened past twelvemonth against a squad that’s had their fig for galore years.

The Chargers person a six-game losing streak versus the Patriots, including the blowout nonaccomplishment successful the 2019 divisional circular of the playoffs. The past clip the Chargers defeated the Patriots was successful 2008 erstwhile Matt Cassel filled successful for the injured Brady.

The Chargers person galore reasons to beryllium motivated for this matchup against Bill Belichick’s Patriots, adjacent if immoderate are ignoring the revenge aspect. After the disfigured nonaccomplishment to the Ravens, the Chargers request a bounce-back game.

“We cognize what happened past twelvemonth and we’re going to bash everything imaginable not to fto that hap again,” Williams said.