What to watch in the Week 17 Saturday tripleheader

On By Littum

The Los Angeles Chargers are knocking on the door trying to reach the playoffs for just the second time since 2018.

In Jim Harbaugh’s first season at the helm with Los Angeles, the head coach has guided the ship with Justin Herbert commanding the offense. Herbert, on an injured ankle, led the Chargers in a Week 16 comeback win over the Denver Broncos.

With a win in Saturday’s game, the Chargers can clinch a postseason berth.

New England (3-12), under first-year head coach Jerod Mayo, has shown some promising moments at times, but their youth has struggled. The Patriots offense nearly pulled off an upset against one of the AFC powerhouse teams in the Buffalo Bills last week.

Will the Chargers lock up a playoff spot? Or will the Patriots play spoiler?

Here are two things to watch for when the Chargers visit the Patriots on Saturday on NFL Network and NFL+:

1) Chargers offense needs to find consistency. Fresh off a 34-point outing against the Broncos, the Chargers’ offensive unit must take advantage against a struggling Patriots defense. Despite Justin Herbert having career lows in pass attempts per. game (28.7) and passing yards per game (216.2), the Chargers QB has been effective in the passing game with his decisions. This season, Herbert has thrown 18 passes for three interceptions; only Lamar Jackson has a better TD-INT ratio with 39 TDs to four INTs. According to Next Gen Stats, Herbert has 14 pass TDs and zero INTs when not pressured in 2024. New England’s defense has pressured opponents on 29.7 percent of dropbacks, which ranks fourth-lowest in the NFL. Chargers rookie wide receiver Ladd McConkey, who is the team’s leading receiver in targets (94), receptions (69) and receiving yards (960), will likely be covered by Patriots cornerback Christian Gonzalez. If Herbert and the Chargers can get other receivers to contribute outside of McConkey, LA could be in line to punch its playoff ticket in Jim Harbaugh’s first season.

2) Drake Maye’s option against a top-ranked defense. The Patriots rookie QB faces his toughest test on Saturday against a talented Chargers defense. LA is allowing 18.3 points per game in 2024, which was the fewest in the league entering Week 17. The positive for New England is that Maye has thrown at least one touchdown or more in the last seven games. That’s the longest streak by any rookie QB since Justin Herbert (10 games) in 2020. However, Maye has also thrown an interception in the last seven games. Taking care of the ball will be a key thing to watch for Maye and New England’s offense against a stingy Chargers defense featuring Joey Bosa, Khalil Mack and Derwin James. Maye will look to be the first rookie starting QB this season to defeat the Chargers. It’s been nearly a decade since Jim Harbaugh lost to a rookie QB; the last QB to accomplish the feat was Derek Carr in 2014 against the 49ers.