The old saying goes “Look good, play good.” The Buffalo Bills wore their Nickel City uniforms on Sunday, and they did not look good. They also did not play good (or well).
Buffalo had to overcome a slew of mistakes, turning the ball over five times. They were able to do it, but man was it not easy.
The first series for the Bills wasn’t very long, with James Cook fumbling on the first play from scrimmage after a great kickoff return. The Bills already lost their advantage.
On the first drive from the Chargers,
Buffalo was also handing out free plays. On the very first snap, Bradley Chubb had a stupid roughing the passer penalty, giving them a free 15 and a first down. Then, a ball was gift wrapped at the goal line for Max Hairston and he couldn’t make the pick. Los Angeles drove it down, and Deone Walker missed a tackle in the box allowing the chargers to score a touchdown. 7-0 L.A. because of a bunch of Bills mistakes.
Buffalo’s second offensive drive wasn’t much better. They lost 11 yards as Josh Allen had a pass batted back to himself then threw a Dalton Kincaid injury ball, before Connor McGovern got beat for a sack.
The Bills ggot lucky on their next defensive drive with a Chargers drop, but the offense was still stuck in reverse. A holding call on Alec Anderson made it 1st and 20 after barely eeking out a fourth down conversion, then Allen threw his first interception of the season. And it was bad. Tom Brady was very critical of the decision on the broadcast, noting that Cover-4 safeties are designed to drive on that.
A very bad call by the refs on a Greg Rousseau roughing the passer nonetheless gave the Chargers 15 free yards, and the Chargers scored again. Two turnovers led to the two drives starting in Buffalo territory and two scores from L.A. It was the worst quarter of Bills football in a long time, and they weren’t done.
Josh Allen ended the first fifteen minutes with a 8.3 passer rating on 2/5 for 9 yards. Then he threw his second interception on the first play of the second quarter. It’s the first time since Nate Peterman in 2017 the Bills have three turnovers on their first four drives.
The defense didn’t immediately pick it up, allowing a third and 12 conversion again. Luckily, the Chargers missed a field goal.
Buffalo drove it down the field and on third and goal, Allen had space in front of him. It remains to be seen if he would have scored, because he cocked to throw to DJ Moore. The ball sailed on him and harmlessly hit the ground before a Tyler Bass field goal.
The miscues certainly weren’t over despite the Bills getting on the board.
A C.J. Gardner-Johnson pick was overturned thanks to a Christian Benford holding call. The Chargers scored three points a few minutes later.
On the next drive, the Bills got a huge third down deep into Chargers territory but a peanut punch led to a Dalton Kincaid fumble. The fourth turnover of the game for the Bills.
On Buffalo’s next drive, Josh Allen was wrapped up by Khalil Mack and the ball leaked out as he was going to the ground. That’s FIVE turnovers among the litany of mistakes and the most home turnovers since 2012.
The Bills kept grinding, though. The defense got enough key stops. The offense put some points on the board. Eventually, it turned Buffalo’s way. They got their own turnover, with Gardner-Johnson bringing a Justin herbert pass back to midfield. The Bills took the lead on the ensuing possession.
After a Chargers turnover on downs, the Bills went up 11 points. A sigh of relief went through the stands.
It is the first time since 1997 that the Bills won a game with a -4 turnover margin, a streak of 24 straight games. In that game, they beat Jim Harbaugh’s Indianapolis Colts in a thrilling comeback win, the largest in regular season history at the time. This week, it was Jim Harbaugh’s Los Angeles Chargers on the other side of the ball. Snakebit.
The Bills now have six wins in team history with a -4 differential; 12/13/1964, 10/4/1970, 10/18/1987, 10/23/1988, and 9/21/1997 alongside today.
Of course, on the field wasn’t the only problem inside the stadium. Traveling Chargers media had a rough start to the day:
