The New England Patriots are set to host the Los Angeles Chargers for the wild-card round of the playoffs on Sunday. There are several playmakers for the Chargers, particularly on the defensive side of the ball, who could help if they were on the Patriots’ roster.
For this week’s Gimme Him player, I am going with linebacker Tuli Tuipulotu.
Tuipulotu is coming off a season where he recorded 49 tackles, 13 sacks, a fumble recovery and three pass deflections. He was an absolute monster for the Chargers’ pass-rushing attack, and it showed throughout several regular-season games.
His best game came against the New York Giants in September, when he recorded four sacks and 10 tackles in a game. He had three games of multiple sacks, as he established himself as the premier pass-rusher for the Chargers.
The Patriots already possess a stout defense, but one of their main weaknesses has been getting to the quarterback. They currently rank in the bottom half of the league with 35 sacks on the season. They are tied with the Kansas City Chiefs and Dallas Cowboys with that number.
The Patriots’ best pass-rushers this season have been Harold Landry III and K’Lavon Chiasson. The duo combined for 16 sacks this season. Having a player of Tuipulotu’s caliber would give the team an elite pass-rushing option to threaten opposing quarterbacks.
Adding a high-end pass-rusher would take tremendous pressure off the secondary by limiting the time opposing quarterbacks have to get rid of the ball in the pocket. Tuipulotu is the kind of playmaker who could instantly take the defense to another level.
Seeing that kind of player on a Mike Vrabel-led football team would be fun to watch, but unfortunately, the Patriots will have to game plan against him on Sunday night.
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