FOXBORO — The Patriots might have just unveiled a defensive personnel package that could breed more success in their playoff march.

Safety Devin McCourty went back to his roots to take on a pseudo-cornerback role for 15 of 57 snaps during the 23-14 victory against the Chargers. Based on the way the Patriots struggled to cover the Packers’ third and fourth receiving options one week earlier, McCourty can now be added to the solution against teams with high-flying offenses, whether it’s in a rematch with the Broncos, Colts or Chargers or even a Super Bowl showdown against Aaron Rodgers’ gang.

“For me, it’s whatever the team asks me to do,” McCourty said. “Sometimes, people just say I’m a deep safety, but if I have to cover, I’ll cover. To me, it’s not a big deal, but it is fun being close to the line of scrimmage. Being able to try to make some more plays is always good. Each week, it’s something different that we probably haven’t done (as a defensive wrinkle) in weeks past, so it’s just being ready to go and being versatile enough to be able to do it.”

The Patriots have used safety Patrick Chung close to the line throughout the season, and McCourty got some similar action in Week 2 against the Vikings. But his opportunities against potential Hall of Fame tight end Antonio Gates on third downs offered a much more high-profile stage on “Sunday Night Football.”

And McCourty more than held his own on those 15 snaps. He blitzed once while lining up over Gates in the left slot in the third quarter and hit Philip Rivers as he released the ball on a 22-yard completion to Eddie Royal, but the rest of the reps required coverage assignments.

McCourty’s first 12 snaps in the role happened on third down before squaring up on Gates for the final three plays of the game, so the Patriots went that route on key downs, which was no coincidence a week after the Packers converted 10 of their first 16 third downs. Though McCourty’s new task was hardly the sole reason for the third-down improvements (the Chargers were 4-of-13), it was a piece of the puzzle.

Rivers was 1-of-2 for 4 yards when targeting McCourty in those 14 coverage plays, and the 4-yarder to Gates occurred on the Chargers’ failed fourth-and-5 to essentially end the game. McCourty, who had a pass breakup to close out a third-quarter drive when the Pats trailed 14-13, covered Gates 12 times and wide receiver Malcom Floyd twice.

McCourty’s coverage was solid, too, including notable plays when he stayed under Gates’ out route in the first quarter and remained stride for stride with Floyd on a second-quarter go-route up the right sideline. As a Pro Bowl corner and All-Pro safety, McCourty has the talent and athleticism to excel in various capacities, and his teammates count on it.

“I’m very impressed by Dev in his career and what he’s done, but also we expect Dev to do that because he is so versatile,” cornerback Darrelle Revis said. “We can put him in certain situations to where he can get back into his corner mode maybe and get down there and scrap with those big tight ends or those athletic tight ends like Antonio Gates, and be able to cover them like a corner.”

These were some folds in the matchups, too. Defensive end Rob Ninkovich checked Gates at the line a couple times before feeding him to McCourty. And the safeties changed throughout the game, with Duron Harmon taking over McCourty’s deep role when he was on the line. Tavon Wilson also got a handful of reps in the third-down packages and handled Gates during McCourty’s third-quarter coverage.

“I think it’s great. I think it’s a credit to everybody in our unit,” McCourty said. “Tavon stepped up and played huge in the game. Duron came in and played big. We’ve had numerous corners out there playing a lot of minutes, and I think it gives the coaches a lot of options each week when we go into a game where they don’t have to feel handcuffed to a certain game plan. They know we have a bunch of guys in here that not only can play but are itching to get out on the field and play more. I think it gives them a lot of options.”

By and large, the Patriots have gotten solid complementary coverage this season from Chung and cornerback Kyle Arrington, but there were issues against Colts tight end Coby Fleener and just about any Packer not covered by Revis and Brandon Browner.

The Pats aren’t likely to use McCourty in a fulltime role on the line, but they certainly like the option they unveiled against the Chargers. McCourty could tag Fleener if necessary in a potential rematch with the Colts or maybe mix it up with Davante Adams if they see the Packers again.

Or if not, the Patriots continue to give their future opponents something else to think about.

“It’s awesome that we’ve got guys that can play slot, outside, when our safety comes down and covers versatile receivers like that,” Browner said. “That’s part of our game plan. Keep them off guard, so they don’t know what’s coming at them. They could be looking at film the previous week and think they’ve got a beat on us, and then coming into the game, it’s totally different.”