Los Angeles Chargers: Three keys to defeating the New England Patriots

2. Rely on the athleticism in the receiving corps

A 10:00 a.m. local start time and snow is a receipe for disaste for the passing attack. In fact, Philip Rivers has not had a great game in his last four games, which could be a signal of the showing we are going to see on Sunday.

That is not the case, at all.

The Chargers came up against a top-10 pass-rush in each of the last four games, which obviously game Rivers a headache as the offensive line is not the greatest for pass blocking. The Patriots do not present the same problem.

According to Pro Football Focus, the Patriots were the 26th-best team in rushing the quarterback this year. That should give Rivers more time than he had in the last four games.

With the added time the Los Angeles Chargers are not going to throw more deep routes. Instead, the Chargers need to take advantage of the obvious athletic advantage they have in the receiving corps and rely a ton on yards after the catch.

It has been a while since Keenan Allen has had a big game and this is the perfect matchup to beat his man on slants, in routes over the middle and out routes on third and short.

Mike Williams is going to play the same Swiss Army Knife roll of going deep and running short routes. Tyrell Williams can be used as the primary deep threat or a decoy deep that opens a shorter route for Allen, Williams or Antonio Gates (or even Hunter Henry).

Heck, even Travis Benjamin presents more speed and lateral quickness than the Patriots’ secondary. This game is not going to be about fitting the ball in tight spaces like the last four.

Instead, the Chargers can open the field in the passing game and strictly rely on their guys outrunning and fooling the Patriots’ secondary. That is when the offense is at its best.