During the playoffs, Rob Gronkowski says there’s no room for excuses. After a difficult regular season, Gronk is ready to hit the reset button. The Athletic looks at the enormous contributions Gronk makes off the field.
Chargers running back Melvin Gordon says he’ll be ready to roll despite dealing with a pair of sore knees. Gordon and his college teammate, James White, are looking forward to Sunday’s game.
The Boston Globe says there’s not much separating the two teams. The Boston Herald looks at the matchup and determines who has the edge. The Herald believes Julian Edelman is more important to the Patriots than ever before. Devin McCourty doesn’t take the postseason for granted. Today's matchup features the Patriots secondary against the Chargers wide receivers.
NBC Sports Boston has Bill Belichick and Patrick Chung lauding the exploits of Chargers rookie safety Derwin James. MassLive.com thinks the Chargers hopes could come down to the rookie. The Boston Sports Journal looks at the Chargers weakness at linebacker and wonders if the Patriots can exploit it. WEEI.com offers the secret to beating the Chargers. Patriots players are dealing with different emotions heading into the game.
The Los Angeles Times has Philip Rivers and Antonio Gates recalling the last time they traveled to Foxborough for a playoff game – the 2007 AFC Championship. There's a lot of respect between Rivers and Brady.
