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in dominant fashion. The team blew past the visiting Los Angeles Chargers with a score of 41-28 and was in control from start to finish Youth Rob Gronkowski Jerseys , despite L.A. adding some points late in the fourth quarter. It was a statement win and the Patriots’ best of the season. Let’s take a look at those who stood out during Sunday’s contest, for better or worse.Winner: QB Tom BradyReportedly fully healed from a sprained MCL suffered in week 10, Tom Brady played an outstanding game against a good Chargers defense — proving that he is still a force to be reckoned with. The 41-year old was in a rhythm from start to finish, spread the football around well, and made tremendous decisions while completing 34 of 44 pass attempts for 343 yards and a touchdown. It was a vintage Brady performance.Winner: The coaching staffNew England came out perfectly prepared for an opponent that actually won more games during the regular season than the Patriots. While the players and their execution deserve plenty of praise, so does the coaching staff. The offense was unstoppable and up four scores before the Chargers even knew what hit them, the defense creatively pressured Philip Rivers all day, and the special teams eliminated the big play return threat. In the playoffs, coaching can very well be the difference and New England still is best in that category.Winner: WR Julian EdelmanIn his first playoff game since Super Bowl 51, Julian Edelman was outstanding. The veteran wide receiver was New England’s top downfield receiving threat and finished the day with nine catches for a team-high (and personal season-high) 151 yards. While Los Angeles attempted to defend the Patriots by using speed in their secondary, the team had no answer to the shifty Edelman.Winner: DE Trey FlowersIn what might have been his last game at Gillette Stadium — he is scheduled to become a free agent in two months — Trey Flowers showed why he is the Patriots’ best front seven defender. The 25-year old dominated at the point of attack and was a big reason why the Chargers’ passing offense never got in a rhythm by consistently moving people or getting into the backfield on stunts. All in all, Flowers registered a sack Rob Gronkowski Jerseys Stitched , a tackle for loss, and two quarterback hits.Winner: RB Sony MichelThe rookie’s first playoff game was a highly successful one. Not only did Sony Michel find the end zone three times, he also dominated the rest of the way. Running behind an excellent offensive line — more on that later — the first-round draft selection gained 129 yards on 24 carries and helped the Patriots control the flow of the game from the get-go. Michel showed burst, tremendous vision, and speed in the open field.Winner: DT Adam ButlerWhile the stat sheet has him with just one tackle and one quarterback hit, it does not tell the whole story of Adam Butler’s game. The second-year man led all Patriots defensive tackles in playing time and was very good at challenging the interior of the Chargers’ offensive line, and opening up things for those around him. New England’s coaching staff trusted Butler to perform despite the high volume of snaps, and he delivered.Loser: Team disciplineIf there is one blemish — and yes, it is nit-picking — coming out of yesterday’s game it is the Patriots’ relatively high number of penalties. Referee Ron Torbert flagged the team nine times on the day, resulting in a loss of 75 yards. Of course, New England was up from the start so the penalties did not hurt that much but they still negated two big plays. The Patriots need to work on this moving into the Kansas City Chiefs’ Arrowhead Stadium next week.Winner: The offensive lineThe Chargers have one of the best defensive lines in the NFL and the Patriots dominated them at will. In run blocking, Dante Scarnecchia’s unit paved the way for 156 yards on 32 non-kneel down carries — a very good 4.9 yards per run — while it also kept Tom Brady pretty much clean for the day: while he was hit twice Color Rush Damien Harris Jersey , the quarterback was not sacked even once. Star pass rushers Melvin Ingram and Joey Bosa were a non-factor, and the Patriots’ blockers up front were a big reason for that.Winner: The lead blockers (Rob Gronkowski, Dwayne Allen, James Develin)Some of the praise for the Patriots’ impressive outing in the trenches has to go to the lead blockers as well — they had a very good day. Dwayne Allen and James Develin were their usual solid selves in rotational roles, while Rob Gronkowski stood out in particular. On multiple occasions he sealed the edge in the run game, took on pass rushers, and showed why he is still an excellent player in this part of the day. Even though he finished with just one 25-yard catch, Gronkowski was one of the best players on the field yesterday.Winner: LB Dont’a HightowerDont’a Hightower’s 2018 campaign started inconsistently, but the veteran has since grown into the player the Patriots re-signed on a four-year, $35.5 million contract two years ago — and he was at his best on Sunday. The 28-year old was active as a pass rusher, communicated well from the heart of the defense, and also was a major factor in limiting the impact of Los Angeles’ dangerous running back duo. In his first playoff game since Super Bowl 51 Youth Damien Harris Jersey , Hightower showed that he is still capable of making game-changing plays.Winner: RB James WhiteDuring last year’s regular season meeting, the Chargers had no answer for James White as a pass catcher. Yesterday was more of the same, as the 26-year old had a dominant performance as Tom Brady’s number one target: the quarterback threw 17 passes towards him, with the back catching 15 of them — tying an NFL postseason record — for 97 yards. White being an option in the short passing game helped negate the pass rush and New England to establish an offensive rhythm from the start on. One player stands above the rest."WhitePatriots News Opinion and Analysis Contribute! FanPostsFanShotsAbout the Site List of Patriots Twitter AccountsWrite For Pats Pulpit!New User Welcome and Commenting GuideCommunity GuidelinesMastheadTopics Patriots Off-Season CoveragePatriots Opinion/AnalysisPatriots NewsPatriots Draft CoverageSportfolio ManagementHere’s My Choice For The Patriots Hall of Fame New,10commentsOne player stands above the rest. EDTShareTweetShareShareHere’s My Choice For The Patriots Hall of Fame The three finalists for the Patriots Hall of Fame have come out, and all 3 are very qualified for the honor. The finalists are: Richard Seymour, Mike Vrabel, and Rodney Harrison. The choice is now up to the fans, so who should you vote for? Well, I’m going to give you a complicated answer, because, while I think there is one player most qualified Womens Damien Harris Jersey , he’s not the guy I’ll be voting for. The player who I think is most qualified to be voted in is Richard Seymour. Belichick has said before that they wouldn’t have won the first 3 Super Bowls without Seymour, and he’ll probably end up in the Pro Football Hall of Fame eventually as well. I won’t be voting for Seymour though, I’ll be voting for Rodney Harrison. Harrison was a sensational player, and a leader on and off the field for two of the best teams in NFL history. He set the tone for 2003 and 2004 teams, which were led by the defense. But that’s not the biggest reason I’m voting for him. The biggest reason is because he is one of the best safeties in NFL history, and doesn’t get the recognition that he deserves. Did you know that he is the only safety and 1 of only 2 players(the other is Ray Lewis) in NFL history with 30 sacks and 30 interceptions? No, you probably didn’t, because no one talk about Harrison as one of the best safeties ever. Because fans didn’t like him, he didn’t get voted into the Pro Bowl, so he doesn’t have the “resume” to get into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. For instance, in 2003 he was a first team All-Pro and in 2004 he was a second team All-Pro, but he wasn’t selected to the Pro Bowl in either of those seasons. He was considered one of the dirtiest players in the league when he was playing Authentic Damien Harris Jersey , but did you ever think he was dirty? He was Ronnie Lott, but he just played in an era that didn’t respect those hard hitting players. So, while both Seymour and Vrabel are deserving of the Hall, I think Harrison is more deserving. Seymour will eventually make it to Canton, and, even though Vrabel deserves to get in, Harrison was a better player than Vrabel. Because of how good he was, and because he doesn’t get the recognition he deserves, I’m hoping that Rodney is the pick to get in this year. Pat is a co-host of The Patriot Nation PodcastInteract with him on Twitter @plane_pats