How Patriots Legend Bill Belichick Outfoxed John Harbaugh

Outside of locking up a first-round bye, the New England Patriots might’ve landed the next best thing to kick off the postseason: a Wild Card matchup against an injury-battered Los Angeles Chargers squad.

Sunday marks New England’s first playoff snap in four years, and the first time playoff football returns to Gillette Stadium since 2019. For Pats fans, it’s been a long wait. Now, the lights are back on.

History? It leans heavily toward New England. The Patriots are 3–1 all-time against the Chargers in the postseason and have won the last three meetings. That includes a gritty AFC Divisional win in San Diego in 2007, an AFC Championship takedown at Gillette in 2008, and a decisive 41–28 Divisional Round statement in 2019. All games where Foxborough felt like a nightmare stop for L.A.

Two of those wins came under Bill Belichick, who spent 24 seasons building one of the most dominant dynasties the league has ever seen, complete with six Lombardi Trophies. These days, Belichick is calling shots at the University of North Carolina, but don’t mistake distance for detachment.

He still watches the league closely, and if he’s weighing in on the matchup at Gillette, you can expect a breakdown that’s blunt, calculated and very on brand.

The Game That Changed the Patriots’ Path

ESPN’s Seth Wickersham recently took to X to drop a nugget from his book It's Better to Be Feared, summing it up perfectly.

“Harbaugh’s Ravens were one of the toughest opponents during the Patriots dynasty — until one moment, when Belichick set a trap for his opponent and opposing coach.”

That moment came on January 10, 2015, in the AFC Divisional Round at Gillette Stadium, when the New England Patriots outlasted the Baltimore Ravens 35–31 in a straight-up win-or-go-home slugfest. A trip to the AFC Championship was on the line. New England was hunting another Super Bowl run. Baltimore? One of the very few teams that consistently made January miserable for Bill Belichick.

That game ended up being the launchpad to Super Bowl XLIX, where the Patriots would eventually take down the Seattle Seahawks. But first, Belichick had to outfox his most stubborn rival.

According to Wickersham’s excerpt, Belichick’s edge wasn’t just Xs and Os. Iit was the psychological scouting report. He knew John Harbaugh. He knew the frustration threshold. And he knew exactly how to push it.

Belichick and Tom Brady rolled out a wrinkle on a trick look called “Raven,” fully cleared by the league and game officials. The key? Timing. Belichick sat on it until the second half so Baltimore couldn’t scheme it up at halftime. Then Brady went tempo, snapping the ball fast and daring the Ravens to keep up.

They couldn’t. The confusion spilled over fast, complaints from Terrell Suggs, visible frustration on the sideline, and eventually an on-field meltdown from Harbaugh that drew an unsportsmanlike conduct flag. The Ravens were rattled. The Pats stayed cool. Exactly how Belichick drew it up.

That was a real chess move, and Belichick had already seen the checkmate coming.

Make sure you bookmark New England Patriots on SI for the latest news, exclusive interviews, film breakdowns, and so much more!