The Chargers travel to the new Highmark Stadium to play the Bills on Sunday as Los Angeles continues searching for their first win.
Here's what LA needs to do on offense to come away with the victory.
Protect the ball
The Chargers have actually performed relatively comparably to the first two games of the Jaguars under Liam Coen and the Bears under Ben Johnson, despite the seemingly disastrous results LA has experienced under offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel through the first two weeks. Those offenses ramped up and are now among the best in the league, which Chargers fans hope is also in the cards for LA. To get there, a major area of improvement will be turnovers: the Chargers have lost 17.5 EPA in the first two games to giveaways, almost as much as those
other two offenses combined in their first two games. Two Omarion Hampton fumbles have also cratered the Chargers' run game to 31st in early-down EPA per play, despite ranking 16th in success rate.
Lean into gap runs
Speaking of the run game, McDaniel told the media this week that he has spent time talking to every offensive player to see what is working well for them so far as he tries to adapt the offense. Hopefully, those conversations lead to more gap runs for Hampton, because the Chargers have been more successful on those concepts than on outside zone, which is what McDaniel is known for. That's perhaps not a surprising outcome, considering LA's offensive personnel was largely constructed to fit into Greg Roman's gap-focused offense. Buffalo is 30th in rush EPA/play allowed so far this season, so if the Chargers can find concepts they can execute at a higher level, Hampton and Keaton Mitchell should find room to run.
Find late down answers
Los Angeles is 17th in EPA/dropback on early downs, but falls to 27th on late downs, numbers that should approach each other as time goes on. If the Chargers can pull their late-down success rate up, most likely by finding more answers against the blitz, they should be able to keep the offense on track and move down the field more often than their low 30 percent three-and-out rate suggests they have so far this year. LA has actually done a fairly good job protecting Justin Herbert - they are 11th in pressure rate allowed - but avoiding sacks on those pressures has proven to be an issue: the Chargers rank 27th in sack rate. Simplifying the offense and finding late-down responses should improve that number.
Let Ladd McConkey take the lead
The Bills have struggled to defend top options on defense, allowing 7 catches, 75 yards, and a touchdown to Texans receiver Nico Collins in Week 1 and 9 receptions, 142 yards, and 2 touchdowns to Lions receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown last week. McConkey has practiced in full all week despite a rib injury in Week 1 and has been the only receiver who has consistently been on the same page as Herbert, so it may not be the worst thing to focus the gameplan on getting him the ball early and often. That sort of targeted plan may also lead to some easier opportunities for the likes of Quentin Johnston and Tre' Harris, who have struggled early in the season on routes where they are intended to be the primary option.
This article originally appeared on Chargers Wire: Chargers' offensive keys to victory against the Bills
