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In Milton Williams, Patriots got exactly what they paid for
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- In Milton Williams, Patriots got exactly what they paid for
FOXBOROUGH — Bradley Bozeman never had a chance.
With his team’s season on the line, the Chargers center tried to react and block Milton Williams coming up the middle on fourth-and-9, the first play out of the two-minute warning in the fourth quarter.
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But the Patriots defensive tackle barely acknowledged him as he brushed him aside.
Left guard Zion Johnson attempted to help, but he did little more than pat Williams on his way into the Los Angeles backfield.
Herbert didn’t have time to look up, let alone cock his arm. The game clock had only moved two seconds from the snap before Williams arrived.
Williams grabbed Justin Herbert’s left arm with his right and wrapped him up, careful not to put a penalizable amount of his 290 pounds of bodyweight on the quarterback, and slammed him to the turf.
Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert (10) is sacked by New England Patriots defensive end Milton Williams (97) in the second half of an NFL wild-card playoff football game in Foxborough, Mass., Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)AP
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The play ended any chance of a Chargers comeback and sent the already excited Gillette Stadium crowd into a frenzy as the Patriots finished off their 16-3 win.
It was a fitting finish to this game and for this team. It’s what the Patriots were envisioning when they targeted Williams as a free agent in the offseason.
They gave the former Eagles defensive tackle a lot of money in the offseason to come to Foxborough. They wanted him to not only wreak chaos on opposing offenses, but to show the Patriots players, who’d lost 26 games over the previous two seasons, how a Super Bowl champion carries himself.
They hoped he’d inspire his teammates and terrify opposing linemen and the combination would lead to more victories in New England. It’s worked out according to plan.
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When the Patriots met on Monday to begin prep for this game, Vrabel challenged Williams.
“(Vrabel) started the week off and said ‘The big dogs show up in January,’” Williams said. “I’ve been preaching that to our group all week.”
In truth, he’s been barking for a while. It wasn’t the first time Williams had sealed a big victory.
In Week 2 against the Dolphins, Williams shook off linemen on fourth down with 53 seconds left and sacked Tua Tagovailoa for the Patriots’ first win.
Last year in the Super Bowl, Williams buried Patrick Mahomes on fourth down in the fourth quarter to ice Philadelphia ’s dismantling of the Chiefs.
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On Sunday, Patriots linebacker Robert Spillane got to Williams to celebrate almost as fast a Williams got to Herbert. Spillane liked the full-circle moment.
“Our season started in Miami with a Milton Williams game-winning sack,” Spillane said. “For us to be in the playoffs and him to come up with a huge play like that? I’m just going to go tell him we’re going to need more of that. ‘Everything you’ve given us, give us some more.’ I know he will.”
Anfernee Jennings echoed Spillane.
“Him making a play like that doesn’t suprise me,” Jennings said. “It’s just him showing he’s a big dog.”
The Patriots needed the big dogs on defense on a day when their offense turned the ball over twice in critical spots and struggled to move the ball consistently.
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“That’s playoff football, it is going to get ugly, it is going to get nasty. You just have to keep going,” Williams said. “Good, bad, whatever. Move on to the next play and figure out what to do to get a stop.”
The Patriots can win that way when Williams is on the field. He missed five games, one in November and four in December with an ankle injury and the New England defense wasn’t nearly as stout.
He came back for the regular season finale and was at the peak of his powers on Sunday with two sacks.
It’s not a coincidence that they beat the Bills with him in the lineup and lost to Buffalo without him. While the Eagles, his former team, were eliminated from the playoffs earlier on Sunday, Williams is on a five-game postseason winning streak.
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Williams said his leadership, like his play, is straight ahead.
“I am not a big rah-rah guy unless we are playing. Tell the boys, man, this is just another football game. We have been doing this all our lives,” he said. “Keep it simple. We do not need any superhero, superhuman effort from anybody. Just go out there and do your job and be where you are supposed to be. The rest is going to take care of itself. We did it tonight. ... If we do what we need to do up front, we’re going to win.”
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