The Buffalo Bills and Los Angeles Chargers don’t see each other all that often anymore. There was a time, however, when they couldn’t seem to get away from each other.
When the Chargers make their first trip to Orchard Park since 2020 on Sunday, it will be the 42nd meeting between two franchises whose history together stretches all the way back to the beginning. Buffalo and the Chargers were both original members of the American Football League in 1960, and by the middle of that decade, they were meeting with
championships on the line.
Yes, those championships – the ones the Bills have banners hanging for. The ones before the Super Bowl Era began.
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Back-to-back titles — both against the Chargers
Buffalo has won two league championships in franchise history. Both came against the Chargers, exactly one year apart.
On Dec. 26, 1964, the Bills hosted San Diego at War Memorial Stadium for the AFL Championship Game. Buffalo came away with a 20-7 win in front of a standing-room-only crowd of 40,242, giving the franchise its first championship.
One year later, the teams did it again.
This time Buffalo traveled to San Diego for the 1965 AFL Championship Game. The Bills didn’t just repeat — they shut the Chargers out, 23-0. Butch Byrd returned an interception 74 yards for a touchdown as Buffalo’s defense held San Diego to 223 total yards.
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San Diego gets one back
It would take another 15 years before the teams met in the postseason again, and this one went the other way.
The Bills went 11-5 and won the AFC East in 1980, earning a trip to San Diego for the divisional round. Buffalo carried a 14-3 lead into halftime behind a Roosevelt Leaks touchdown run and a Joe Ferguson touchdown pass to Frank Lewis.
Then Dan Fouts and the Chargers came back.
San Diego pulled within 14-13 before Fouts connected with Ron Smith for a 50-yard touchdown with 2:08 remaining. The Chargers won 20-14, ending Buffalo’s season and accounting for San Diego’s lone postseason victory in the series.
Buffalo still owns the playoff edge, 2-1. But the Chargers own the overall series, 25-14-2.
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The day the lights went out in Orchard Park
Not every memorable Bills-Chargers game involved a championship or playoff berth. Sometimes all it takes is three helium balloons.
The Chargers visited Ralph Wilson Stadium on Oct. 19, 2008, and the afternoon quickly became one of the stranger games played in Orchard Park. Three balloons became tangled in a power line outside the stadium, knocking out electricity and causing a delay during the first quarter. The scoreboard and play clocks went dark, the CBS broadcast disappeared, and officials eventually had to resume play while keeping time on the field.
The Bills handled the weirdness better.
Trent Edwards completed 25 of 30 passes for 261 yards and a touchdown, Marshawn Lynch scored the go-ahead touchdown in the third quarter, and Kawika Mitchell intercepted Philip Rivers in the end zone late in the fourth. Buffalo won 23-14 to improve to 5-1.
But maybe we should leave the balloons at home on Sunday.
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The one we’d rather forget
Of course, there is another Bills-Chargers game from the not-so-distant past that Buffalo fans probably remember for entirely different reasons.
Nathan Peterman.
Sean McDermott made the decision to start the rookie over Tyrod Taylor when Buffalo traveled to Los Angeles in November 2017. Peterman’s first NFL start lasted one half. He threw five interceptions on 14 attempts.
The Chargers turned those mistakes into a 37-7 halftime lead. Peterman was replaced by Taylor for the second half, but there was no undoing the damage. Los Angeles won 54-24.
Maybe we can just put that one back in the capsule and close the lid.
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The Allen era has belonged to Buffalo
Things have gone considerably better against the Chargers since Josh Allen took over at quarterback. The teams have met twice during Allen’s career, and Buffalo has won both.
The first came in Orchard Park in November 2020. Allen threw a touchdown and ran for another, while Cole Beasley got in on the fun by throwing a 20-yard touchdown pass to Gabe Davis. Buffalo’s defense intercepted rookie Justin Herbert, sacked him three times, and helped the Bills to a 27-17 win.
Allen’s second Chargers meeting was considerably tighter.
Buffalo traveled to Los Angeles on Dec. 23, 2023, and found itself trailing 10-0 in the second quarter before Allen connected with Gabe Davis for a 57-yard touchdown. Allen added two rushing touchdowns, but the Chargers took a 22-21 lead with 5:26 remaining.
That left Buffalo needing one more drive. Allen and the offense moved the Bills into position for Tyler Bass, who connected from 29 yards with 28 seconds remaining to give Buffalo a 24-22 win.
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So, what does 66 years of Bills-Chargers history tell us about what to expect Sunday? Absolutely nothing.
If this series has taught us anything, it’s that things can get weird in a hurry.
