There are always tone setters when an NFL team wins a playoff game.

They could happen during the week of preparation, or during the game itself, or even both.

In the case of the New England Patriots’ 16-3 AFC Wild Card Playoff win Sunday night over the hopeless Los Angeles Chargers, the third choice is the correct one.

It started last Monday when Patriots coach Mike Vrabel told defensive lineman Milton Williams and others that “Big Dawgs show up in January” in the playoffs. That’s all Vrabel needed to say to his defensive leaders.

“All right,” Williams said his reaction was. “A little extra juice.”

The Patriots remembered that when the Chargers had a first and goal just inside the 10 after a deflected interception early in the game. The Chargers feeble offense went four-and-out. No points. Even 5-foot-8 corner Marcus Jones imagined himself “a big Dawg” bringing down L.A.’s 6-6 QB Justin Herbert at the 2, keeping him out of the end zone. Yikes.

What our defense was able to do early in that game, in the red zone, inside the five yard line or inside the nine yard line, I think really set the tone for them for the rest of the game,” Patriots coach Mike Vrabel said.

There you go. Tone setters. Let’s face it, the Chargers were the perfect matchup for your Patriots in this basically playoff debut for so many of them. A banged up offensive line had Herbert running for his life. The QB was his team’s leading rusher with 57 of its 87 ground yards,mainly on scrambles. Their running game was non-existent.

“You have to be able to create some longer yardage situations,” Vrabel said. “We were able to do that. That was real positive. I think being able to get drives stopped, certainly the Chargers want to possess the football, wear you down. I don’t think we ever let them do that.”

No they didnt.

“Yeah, they played well,” Herbert said of the Patriots defense. “We got nothing but respect for them. As an offense it wasn’t good enough today and I didn’t play well enough and didn’t make any plays. When it mattered most we didn’t score any points.”

The Patriots seemed to love what this game was about, a return to Gillette of NFL playoff football, a return of fans standing all game, cheering every tackle, incompletion etc. It revs up a defense more than anything. It was loud at Gillette f or sure.

“We loved it,”Jones said. “The home atmosphere,we loved it.”

They’ll get more of it next Sunday, the likely day rather than Saturday for their AFC Divisional Round game, because it’s against the winner of Monday night’s game between Houston and Pittsburgh. To have that team play on Saturday with short rest probably wouldn’t fly.

But, like Williams, whom bloodied Vrabel’s lip with a head button at game’s end said, “That’s playoff football. It’s going to be ugly,it’s going to be nasty.”

So you had better set a tone before your opponent does.