Neither team would score a touchdown until 9:45 left in the fourth quarter when Patriots quarterback Drake Maye found tight end Hunter Henry for a 28-yard touchdown to go up 16-3.
Maye finished the game with 268 passing yards, one touchdown, and two turnovers. He would lead all rushers with 66 yards.
Pats running back Rhamondre Stevenson finished with 128 total yards.
Chargers QB Justin Herbert wouldn't eclipse 100 passing yards until six minutes left in the game. He'd finish with 159 passing yards while also leading the team with 57 rushing yards.
The rest of the Chargers would only put up 30 yards on the ground.
New England will face the winner between the Houston Texans and Pittsburgh Steelers, while the Buffalo Bills will take on the Denver Broncos in the other AFC Divisional round game.
Full game recap + highlights
It was a low-scoring affair in Foxborough.
Maye committed the first turnover of the game when Chargers linebacker Dayan Henley picked him off to give the Chargers the ball on the New England 12 yard line.
But after getting near the goal line, the Chargers failed to convert on fourth down and turned it over on downs, eventually leading to the first field goal of the game from Andy Borregales for 23 yards to put the Pats up 3-0.
The Chargers would drive down the field the next drive, but failed to score another touchdown in good field position, leaving Cameron Dicker to tie it up 3-3 with a 21-yard field goal.
After a 42-yard pass from Maye to Kayshon Boutte, Borregales would hit 35-yard field goal right before the end of the first half to make 6-3.
The field goals would continue into the third quarter.
After the Chargers went three-and-out, defensive end Odafe Owen would force Maye to fumble with his second sack of the night.
But the Chargers, once again, couldn't capitalise on a turnover, despite getting a 22-yard defensive pass interference to go their way.
In the ensuing drive, New England would once again settle for their third field goal of the game as Borregales would hit a 39-yarder before heading into the fourth quarter.
It wouldn't be until 9:45 left in the game that the Patriots finally found paydirt.
Maye would hit tight end Hunter Henry for a 28-yard touchdown for a score against his former team to make it 16-3 following an extra point from Borregales.
The Pats would force Herbert to fumble on the next drive after he picked up two straight first downs on the ground.
Like most of the night, no damage was done off the turnover.
Eventually, Milton Williams would sack Herbert for the Patriots' sixth of the night to put the final nail in the Chargers' coffin.
