The Buffalo Bills were ripe for the taking. They were turning the ball over at a ridiculous rate. They were killing themselves with penalties.
Even the great Josh Allen seemed like a mess. So, how did they end up winning by a touchdown? That’s how bad things are these days for the Los Angeles Chargers, who lost an incredibly winnable game in Buffalo on Sunday, 24-16.
They forced five turnovers. They watched the Bills commit 10 penalties. They throttled Allen for most of the game.
And still they found a way to give another game away. Yeah, the Bills might be the best team in the NFL. But don’t forget, the Chargers are a team that way too many people foolishly believed was a sleeper Super Bowl contender.
Obviously, they were all very, very wrong. Here are my 3 takeaways from the game that kept the Bills undefeated and sent the spiraling Chargers to 0-3: This should be pretty obvious to everyone around the NFL by now, but never, ever count Josh Allen out. The Bills quarterback looked about as bad as he’s capable of looking early in this game.
He had two ugly first-half interceptions and even added a fumble in the second half. He couldn’t get anything going at all, which is unusual considering how spectacular the Bills offense has been. But then in the fourth quarter, just when everything was looking dire, he found his magic.
On fourth-and-6 from the Chargers' 43-yard line, he was stuck in the pocket and in the grasp of a Chargers defender, and he still managed to stretch up and float a pass to running back Ty Johnson. It was actually a 43-yard touchdown pass, but it was called back to the 24 on a holding penalty after the catch. Even with the penalty — a far-too-common occurrence from the Bills in this game — the pass extended the most important drive of the game.
And six plays later, Allen scored on a quarterback sneak to give Buffalo its first and only lead. Allen wasn’t particularly good in this game. He was just 16 of 26 for 204 yards, no touchdowns and those two interceptions, and he ran seven times for just 23 yards (though he did score twice).
That was quite a drop-off after throwing for 582 yards and 5 touchdowns while running for 92 yards and 4 touchdowns in his first two games. But he did what Allen always does, what true MVPs always seem to do: He found a way to overcome whatever was happening and make his biggest plays in the most important moments. That’s why even after this ugly performance, Allen is the clear MVP frontrunner three games into the season.
Even when he’s completely off his game, he’s going to be tough to beat. Justin Herbert is hardly the only one to blame for this Chargers mess. It’s true that his receivers drop too many passes.
It’s correct to point out his protection isn’t good, or that his receivers don’t get open enough. It’s fair to blame a Mike McDaniel scheme that so far doesn’t seem to suit him. But once again, Herbert is failing to make those around him better and he can’t be counted on to make the big plays, even when they’re sitting there.
His defense absolutely handed him this game. He was gifted with five turnovers, three of which were on the Buffalo side of the field. And he turned those into just 10 points.
Sure, the Chargers killed themselves on offense with penalties and Cameron Dicker missed a 45-yard field goal. And there were some terrible dropped passes (everyone is looking at you, Quentin Johnston). But don’t overlook the plays Herbert missed, like his crushing, fourth-quarter interception on the goal line to Bills safety C.J.
Gardner-Johnson. The Chargers got the ball on an Allen fumble on the Bills’ 28-yard line, nursing a 13-10 lead. If they score there, they might put the game away.
But Herbert killed them by going deep on 3rd and 5 from the 23 and never seeing Gardner-Johnson lurking near WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling, in perfect position to jump the route and pick it off. As usual, Herbert’s numbers were … blah. He completed 20 of 34 passes for 226 yards, with one touchdown and one interception.
The Bills defense had given up 736 yards and 62 points in two games, but Herbert couldn’t take advantage of them. Once again, he’s far from blameless in this 0-3 Chargers mess. But great quarterbacks — and he was always supposed to be one — rise above their surroundings, make their teammates better, and make big plays when it matters most.
None of that describes Herbert, and we can’t keep pretending that it does. For all the deserved blame that Justin Herbert and the offense got for the Chargers’ ugly 0-2 start, the defense was owed some of the discredit. They gave up nearly 700 total yards to the Cardinals and Raiders, who most figured would be two offensively challenged teams.
So give them credit for stepping up against the Bills’ juggernaut offense on Sunday and doing everything they could to give Herbert a chance. They set the tone early when DE Justin Eboigbe popped the ball loose from Bills RB James Cook hands and ended up with five turnovers in all. They also sacked Bills QB Josh Allen three times and held Buffalo to 350 total yards (76 below their average) — 134 of which came in the fourth quarter.
It was looking like the Chargers had taken a big step back defensively after old coordinator Jesse Minter left to become the head coach of the Baltimore Ravens and Jim Harbaugh made the questionable decision to bring back former safeties coach Chris O’Leary as the new DC after one year at Western Michigan. But maybe all they needed was some time. Both their pass rush and coverage were strong against the Bills, and they certainly delivered hard hits whenever they could.
That certainly could help them as they try to salvage the rest of this season. It won’t be easy. They’ve got some dangerous offenses coming up over the next two months.
But at least this was finally a positive start.
