The Los Angeles Chargers are a few days away from taking on the New England Patriots in the second round of the 2018 playoffs. Chargers head coach Anthony Lynn anticipates one New England player in particular will make some noise on Sunday: Rob Gronkowski.
Anthony Lynn on Patriots TE Rob Gronkowski: “I’m expecting Gronk to be Gronk. It’s playoff time. He’s going to show up.”
— Sam Fortier (@Sam4TR) January 9, 2019
Gronkowski has had an uncharacteristically disappointing season and there may have been more to his retirement contemplation prior to this season then previously suggested. Gronk normally wreaks havoc on opposing defenses, but this season he appears to have lost a step in addition to his constant battles with injuries.
Lynn knows the threat Gronkowski possesses, but the Chargers defense has been fantastic this season and it's highly likely they will force Tom Brady to throw elsewhere. Rookie safety Derwin James will likely provide extra coverage on Gronk in addition to a linebacker covering him as well.
It would be in the Chargers best interest to take him out of the game, forcing Brady to throw to wide receivers Julian Edelman or Chris Hogan. The recent loss of wide receiver Josh Gordon will hurt the Patriots in a big way as he was their most daunting receiver in terms of coverage. Gordon was a big body receiver with great hands and filled in admirably during Gronk's struggles. As long as the Chargers can manage a solid game plan against Gronk and Edelman, they will force the Pats to turn to the run game. Los Angeles has been fantastic against the run with the return of Joey Bosa and recent play making of Melvin Ingram.
The Chargers had the better record in comparison to the Patriots this season. The only problem was sharing a division with the powerhouse Kansas City Chiefs. The Chargers have their work cut out for them against Brady, but Los Angeles has been playing at an extremely high level this season especially as of late.
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