Pats Chat: A Patriots podcast with Doug Kyed and Michael Hurley

IT'S PLAYOFF WEEK IN NEW ENGLAND. Instead of dealing with coach firings and GM interviews, New England is preparing for playoff football at Gillette Stadium, with the Patriots hosting the Chargers in the wild card round.Doug Kyed and Michael Hurley break down how the Patriots can secure a victory and move on to the divisional round while also touching on the importance of Drake Maye to get his first playoff win (while keeping Justin Herbert's win total at zero).There's also the ever-maddening MVP debate, where things have really gone off the rails.

The Patriots put the bow on a 14-3 season with a 38-10 blowout win over the Dolphins. Drake Maye was very good once again, but did he lose the MVP race to Matthew Statfford. More importantly ... why does that matter so much to so many people?Doug Kyed and Michael Hurley look ahead to the wild card round matchup with the Chargers next Sunday and also run through the Booms and Dooms from Sunday's game, lay out fair postseason expectations for Mike Vrabel and Co., and much more.

As the Patriots prepare to face the Dolphins in Week 18, Stefon Diggs and Christian Barmore are facing allegations of assault. Doug Kyed and Michael Hurley discuss those situations and what the next steps are for both players and the team.There are also some observations that the MVP debate between Drake Maye and Matthew Stafford has gotten very, very strange in the national media. Why are people working so hard to diminish Drake Maye? It's ... WEIRD.

Drake Maye had the best game of any quarterback this year, the Patriots steamrolled the Jets, and New England took back the crown in the AFC East. It was a nice little Sunday for the team.Doug Kyed and Michael Hurley break down the 42-10 win over the Jets (as much as it could be broken down). It was Booms galore, as Drake Maye and Stefon Diggs powered the offense and Efton Chism caught his first career touchdown.It's also time to look ahead to the potential playoff matchups to figure out just how far this team can go.And for whatever reason, you'll get an extensive break down of Home Alone and Home Alone 2 at the end, which is bad news for Uncle Frank.

The New England Patriots improved to 12-3 and clinched a playoff berth after a tremendous fourth quarter comeback in Baltimore. Drake Maye shook off a shaky three quarters to shine in the fourth, and Stefon Diggs turned in one of his best performances as a Patriot.Doug Kyed and Michael Hurley recap the 28-24 victory, which included arguably the worst missed pass interference call of the 2020s as well as the worst fake punt since the infamous Colts play in 2015. There were Booms, there were Dooms, and there was a concerning run of injuries, but the Patriots are 12-3 with a chance to make a run at the No. 1 seed.