The Chargers are 0-3 after a 24-16 loss to the Bills on Sunday, despite LA forcing five turnovers.
Here's what to take away from the game.
Wasting free chances
The Chargers scored 10 of their 16 points off Buffalo's turnovers, earning a touchdown and a field goal off of the first two Bills giveaways. After that, however, LA turned three turnovers into a missed field goal, punt, and interception of their own, the latter of which Buffalo turned into a touchdown to take a 17-13 lead that they never relinquished. Los Angeles was a 7.5 point underdog in the game against a quarterback who had played at an MVP level in the first two games. Failing to convert those chances and turn them into more points represents a colossal failure by the offense in a game that felt winnable
for most of Sunday morning.
Personnel issues
Los Angeles struggled all day with familiar problems, but undrafted cornerback Rodney Shelley also had a game to forget. With Donte Jackson out due to a concussion, Shelley played 11 snaps and gave up 2 receptions for 50 yards - one on a Keon Coleman route where Shelley lost him on an in-and-up route, and one on a crunch-time third down where Buffalo sent DJ Moore in motion all the way to the other side of the field with Shelley in man coverage. The rookie also allowed the Bills to wriggle out of a 2nd & 26 in the fourth quarter by committing a defensive holding penalty on Coleman. In more familiar news, right guard Cole Strange had two false starts, left guard Trevor Penning allowed 6 pressures, and wide receiver Quentin Johnston dropped a tremendously important third-down pass in the fourth quarter.
Run defense collapses
The Chargers entered the weekend as the 7th-best team in the NFL in rush EPA/play allowed, 7th in rushing yards per game allowed, and 1st in yards per attempt allowed at 2.7. They promptly allowed James Cook to rush for 6.4 yards per attempt and 154 yards on Sunday. LA forced a fumble on Cook on his first carry, but allowed five explosive runs (10 or more yards), four of which came in the second half as Buffalo imposed their will on offense. It was the highest total Cook has compiled since Week 8 of the 2025 season, when he had 216 yards and 2 touchdowns against the Panthers. LA also allowed 3 rushing touchdowns, one to Cook and 2 to Josh Allen on quarterback sneaks.
Where does offense go from here?
The Chargers offense had another terrible day on Sunday. Alec Ingold led the team in receiving until Johnston had a 21-yard catch to end the first half, and Ladd McConkey had only one catch on two targets in the first half, despite the Bills previously allowing No. 1 options Nico Collins and Amon-Ra St. Brown to feast on their passing defense. Omarion Hampton struggled to find room to run between the tackles, averaging 3.7 yards per carry on 15 attempts, but the Chargers at least got Keaton Mitchell more involved on outside runs with some success. Justin Herbert threw a poor interception on the goal line to Bills safety CJ Gardner-Johnson early in the fourth quarter, and Gardner-Johnson's earlier end-zone interception was wiped off the board by a defensive holding penalty. Against a defense that hasn't played well to open the year, it's worth wondering whether the Chargers will find the answers they need to be an efficient offense this season.
Flashes of competence
The sting of a third straight loss, which may be enough to end the Chargers' realistic playoff hopes considering their remaining schedule, overshadows some of the bright spots on Los Angeles' roster after Sunday's game. Safety Genesis Smith bounced back from a poor showing last week to pick Allen off twice, one on a deep in-breaking route that the rookie read well and one on a post route where Smith fought for the ball as it bounced between him and Moore. Rookie Akheem Mesidor had a flashy sack, beating star Bills left tackle Dion Dawkins even as he took a cheat step at the snap to beat Mesidor to the corner. Mitchell's 8 carries were productive, compiling 52 yards, and the offense looked like it was in rhythm at times, mostly when the Chargers were able to avoid committing a penalty. The three-play sequence on LA's final drive, where Herbert found Tre' Harris on a deep route for 23 yards, then dumped a checkdown to running back Kimani Vidal for 14 yards after Vidal made a few men miss, then rolled right and hit McConkey on the sideline for another 29 yards, was a glimpse at what the offense should look like.
This article originally appeared on Chargers Wire: Chargers vs. Bills: 5 takeaways from LA's loss in Week 3
