The road portion of the Patriots schedule is complete as they return to Gillette Stadium for the final two homes game of what is mostly a forgettable 2024 season. The Patriots sit at 3-12 this season and are underdogs this week when they face the Los Angeles Chargers on Saturday at 1 p.m.
They will also be underdogs in Week 18 when the Buffalo Bills visit Gillette. So if the Patriots lose both games, it would be the eighth time in franchise history that the team won three or fewer games in a season and the first since 1992 when it finished 2-14.
The Patriots are currently in position to hold the second pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. So we will get to the Chargers game after a moment of optimism. There have been six times in team history when the team has finished at least four games below .500 and had a winning record the following season.
In its inaugural season in 1960, the Patriots finished 5-9 only to go 9-4-1 in 1961. It happened again in that opening decade when the 1965 Patriots finished 4-8-2 only to finish 8-4-2 a season later.
The 1975 Patriots limped to a 3-11 finish only to rebound and go 11-3 in 1976. The 1981 Patriots finished 2-14, but went 5-4 during the strike shortened 1982 season. It happened twice in the 1990s during the Bill Parcells era. The Pats finished 5-11 in Parcells’ first season in New England (1993) and bounced back to a 10-6 playoff season in 1994. After dipping to 6-10 in 1995, the team rode the roller coaster to 11-5 and an AFC Championship in 1996.
The last time a big rebound happened came in Bill Belichick’s first two seasons with the team. After struggling to a 5-11 finish in 2000, the Patriots went 11-5 in 2001 and won Super Bowl XXXVI. Over the course of two decades, the team didn’t need to rebound from bad seasons as it established an NFL dynasty. But after finishing 4-13 in 2023, the team is on the same course as this season winds mercifully to a close. But with the quarterback position seemingly addressed going forward, the team can focus on improving other areas through free agency and the Draft starting almost immediately.
The Chargers, meanwhile, are likely heading to the playoffs. They are 9-6 and are two games ahead of three other teams still in the hunt. So they will hardly be looking past New England, though cross-country trips to wintry weather climates can serve as equalizers this time of year.
The Patriots-Chargers series dates back to the American Football League. The teams first met on Oct. 8, 1960, a game the Boston Patriots won, 35-0. The most important of those old AFL matchups came in the 1963 league championship game, which the Chargers won, 51-10.
The teams also met last season – a game won by Los Angeles, 6-0. New England’s last Super Bowl championship run featured a 41-28 win over the Chargers after which quarterback Tom Brady told a reporter something to the effect of, “I know everyone thinks we suck…”
The 2007 Patriots moved to 18-0 with a 21-12 AFC Championship Game win over the Chargers before losing Super Bowl XLII. Recent history actually favors New England. The Pats prevailed in the 2021 matchup between the clubs, 27-24. Both Mac Jones and Justin Herbert finished 18-for-35 passing in the game, but the Pats intercepted Herbert twice in the win.
The Patriots clobbered the Chargers in the 2020 matchup, 45-0, with Cam Newton at the helm. He completed 12-of-19 passes with a touchdown in the win, and the Pats defense, once again, intercepted Herbert twice.
Herbert didn’t throw any interceptions during last year’s win over New England, which ended a seven-game Patriots winning streak in the series. He also has thrown only three interceptions in 2024, and the Patriots only have seven interceptions this season.
The series:
- The Patriots lead the all-time series, 27-16-2
- The Patriots longest winning streak against the Chargers is 10 games (1973-2001)
- The Chargers longest winning streak against New England is four games (1968-1970)
- The Patriots are 14-9-1 at home and 13-7-1 on the road in the series
- There has been one overtime game in the series (New England won, 29-26, on Oct. 14, 2001)
- New England has won 20-of-24 in the series
- The series dates to October 8, 1960 (a 35-0 Patriots win in Los Angeles)
- The Chargers largest margin of victory is 41 (51-10 AFL Championship win on Jan. 5, 1964)
- The Patriots largest margin of victory is 45 (45-0 road win on Dec. 6, 2020)
