By Alex “MereKat” LeMere
The Los Angeles Chargers flew across the country to take on the Buffalo Bills today in a highly anticipated matchup between two of the NFL’s best and brightest at QB.
A beautiful 50 degree mid-November day sets the stage for these teams to clash. Although the Chargers come into this game just 3-7, they’ve been the victim of bad calls, late winners, and poor misfortune all season with just a -13 point differential and a lot of close games that resulted in a loss. They boast one of the most dangerous duos in the league on offense with rookie QB Justin Herbert and the NFL’s leader in receptions with WR Keenan Allen.
A team with a young QB, a superstar WR and an under-preforming defense…sound familiar?
I think the Chargers are a similar team to the Bills that have just gotten some bad beats along the way, while almost everything outside of the “Hail Murray” has leaned in Buffalo’s favor. This sets the stage for what I expected to be an exciting, high scoring game that would be closer than people thought.
Let’s recap all the action that ensued:
The Bills kick things off (literally kick-off) to the Chargers, who start this game on a beautiful day for some football. Justin Herbert starts out throwing the ball three straight times…and all three for incompletions. A great opening statement from the Bills’ defense to shut the Chargers’ opening drive down in just about 30 seconds and get the ball early.
The first play for Buffalo saw Josh Allen take the snap from shotgun and throw a quick out to RB Devin Singletary for five yards. Allen then, out of shotgun again, tucks the snap and runs it up the sideline himself to break the plane and get the Buffalo first. A huge break for Buffalo as Allen fires a bomb for Stefon Diggs into the end zone that is broken up, but a pass interference on LA gives Buffalo the ball at the LA 5-yard line with a first and goal. After a Zack Moss rush, Josh Allen takes advantage of the field position and finds a wide-open Dawson Knox for the 2-yard score in the back of the end zone. A great read by Josh and an adjustment by Knox result in 6. Buffalo gets on the board quick and the lead 7-0 early.
Herbert and the Chargers’ offense start their second drive after a bad first set of downs that saw a sub-minute drive result in a punt and prompt response from the Bills. Herbert gets going as he hits Johnson for a first after an Ekeler rush and then a dart to Keenan Allen that’s bobbled but good for 11 yards and another first. Ekeler shows he’s all the way back, gashing Buffalo’s defense in the air and on the ground to help bring his team just 22 yards from the end zone. With a third and 10, Buffalo lets Ekeler spring free for a catch out of the backfield and up field for an easy first down in a crucial situation. Keenan Allen proves himself to be one of the best in the league once again, getting inside of Tremaine Edmunds and catching the TD from Herbert in his fifth straight game. LA misses the tying PAT kick and trail Buffalo 7-6 with 6:31 left in the first.
Buffalo’s offense came out with a pass to…Lee Smith(!?) like we all expected for 3, then Singletary gets his first carry for 6 yards to set up a third and 1 where Josh Allen gets blown up by Joey Bosa for the sack on the attempted QB sweep. Buffalo falls flat and punts away.
Buffalo’s defense returns to their form from the first drive and makes a stand on this drive as they’re able to force an incompletion on third and 8 and force another punt. A short punt goes out of bounds at the Buffalo 35, and both of these offenses, outside of their scoring drives, have been slow.
Allen starts this drive how he ended the last one, on his ass, as he’s sacked again by Bosa on the first play of this drive. Facing a third and 9 after another short rush, Allen hits Stefon Diggs who, instead of turning up field, takes it back to make a move and is stopped short…but wait! Off-setting penalties force a replay of the down. Things go worst this time with Allen throwing the ball away as he’s being taken down and we get our third straight punt. Bojo launches it 46 yards to pin LA on their own 15.
Ekeler is finally contained and stopped for no gain on the opening rush. Herbert shows he has room to grow on second down, missing an open pass to Parham Jr. but makes up for it with a dart to Guyton for the first on third and 10. A nice pass by the rookie there to make up for the bad one before it. A short rush and pass bring up a big third and 2 and Herbert’s pass is incomplete. Did someone order a punt fest with a side of punts? Because we’re at four straight folks! Roberts returns for just four yards to set the offense up at their own 24-yard line.
Singletary gets the call on the first two plays of this Buffalo drive and rushes for just two yards between the two carries. Some weird play calling that brings on the third and 8 but Singletary makes up for it taking the ball from Allen four yards behind the line and zooms for 14 yards and the first. A near-perfect RB screen there. Buffalo gets a free 15 yards after a roughing the passer and get a fresh set of owns in Chargers’ territory. Singletary gets it again and TURNS IT LOOSE as he hits a hole and pushes some defenders for the 21-yard gain. As if this drive wasn’t starting to heat up enough, we get some trickery that results in a huge score! Cole Beasley gets the ball and throws a perfect pass himself to Gabriel (not Gabe) Davis for the way-too-easy touch down to extend the Buffalo lead, 14-6! Brian Daboll has been dying to use that one I’m sure and Buffalo’s offense gets a needed score on a fun sequence there.
The Chargers get going early with Herbert hitting his TE Hunter Henry for 11 on second down for a quick first but things halted there. A rush for a loss and two incompletions by Herbert force yet another Chargers’ punt after a short possession and down. Herbert has definitely flashed but has just 10 completions on 21 attempts and looking a little erratic.
Moss takes the first play on the ground for three yards to set up an Allen dart to Gabriel (not Gabe) Davis for 15 yards and the first on Allen’s nice look and better catch by Davis. After a long deliberation on whetheAllen’s a fumble or incompletion on the previous play, it’s ruled and incompletion and we’re back to play. Allen hits Beasley for 14 yards and Beasley’s first catch of the day. An unnecessary roughness tacked on the end of that moves the Bills from their 32-yard line to the LA 39-yard line in one go. A short pass to Moss sets up a third and 2 where Moss gets the call again and hits a massive hole for six yards to convert. Allen takes a draw for 11 tough yards to show off his legs and athletics once again. Then absolute terror for all of #BillsMafia as Josh Allen gets taken down and his ankle bent back and stays down on the field. He’s lucky enough to walk off but Barkley comes in for a play and is promptly sacked immediately (we love you Matt) but a sigh of relief as Allen comes back on the field and I could breathe again. A third and 18 challenge for Allen and the offense turns into a third and 23 following a rare Feliciano penalty. Allen complete it to Singletary and we march out the red hot Bass Man for the 45 yard FG attempt. TBass’ attempt is down the middle, and Buffalo tacks another three up to now lead 17-6 with just 2:16 left in the half after a crazy drive.
Herbert, looking for a score before the half, dumps it for 4 to Ekeler and bring on the two-minute warning. Sensing a sense of urgency for the Chargers, trailing 11 in a game they haven’t been awful heading into half is not what they wanted to do. Herbert comes out of the break, hitting Ekeler once again for a first down, and then launches one’s way off-target downfield. He makes up for it with a 10-yard completion to Guyton and a first on the following play just to get sacked by Jerry Hughe$ and AJ (Twitter is sorry) Klein for the sack and 8-yard loss! Just a minute left in the game, Herbert starts to sling it with the clock looming over him as he completes passes to Keenan Allen and Ekeler for a total of 16 yards…but it’s not enough. A fourth and 2, and the Chargers punt it to Buffalo, who just takes a knee to wane out the half.
Halftime Grades:
Bills – A- … This might have been a B+ had I not been so impressed by Cole Beasley’s QB skills on that pass to Gabriel (not Gabe) Davis for our second score. The defense has done a good job at forcing many incompletions and making Herbert a bit uncomfortable in the pocket. Josh Allen hasn’t been a world-beater (9/13 63 yards 1 TD 5 rush, 14 yards) but obviously been competent, avoided mistakes, and done enough o give us an 11 point lead at the half.
Chargers – C+ … They might be down 11 points, and it could have been more, but I don’t think the Chargers have been bad. They just haven’t executed well and have let drives just die way too fast. Some not-so-great special teams (missed PAT and rough punt) mixed with penalties have kept this team down. They need to hold the ball longer and string together a longer, efficient scoring drive.
If Buffalo wants to close this game out and win, they’ll need to keep the foot on the gas pedal and continue to put points on the board without completely leaning on their defense to keep Herbert at bay. If the Chargers want to have a comeback chance, Herbert needs to respond quickly and take advantage of a Buffalo team that loves to sputter in the second halves. Whichever of these QBs turn the ball over first could end up on the losing side here.
Andre Roberts makes his pro bowl case stronger with a beautiful 38-yard return to give the Bills a starting spot at their own 43-yard line. Singletary gets the opening call again and takes his first two carries for eight and six yards to move the sticks. Stefon Diggs gets his first two catches of the day with back-to-back 4-yard receptions before Allen, even injured, fights for the first down himself. Diggs gets the look again, this time for six yards, and then Singletary is stuffed for no gain and bringing on a third and 4. No worries though since Josh Allen finally remembered he had Diggs on his team and hits him for his fourth straight reception and another first down. More penalties against the Chargers and the Bills get a first and goal on their fourth first down awarded from the penalty of the game. After an incompletion to Diggs, Allen flashes brilliance again and runs, extending for the pylon, for the score! He gets a rare penalty for spinning the football after scoring but who cares? The Bills now lead with a commanding 24-6 on the scoreboard. That’s how you open a half folks!
Herbert completes the first pass of the drive to Hunter Henry for 13 yards before Ekeler gets stuffed for a loss of two yards on the next play. They start to go up-tempo, down 18, with no huddle as Herbert hit Henry for nine yards, then goes incomplete to Allen and bringing on a fourth and 1. The Chargers keep their offense on the field without hesitation and convert to Mike Williams for the first with a 5-yard completion. Not allowing a review, they run it quickly with Joshua Kelley who burst up the sideline for 33 yards to the Bills’ 8-yard line. After a few unsuccessful attempts at the end zone, the Chargers go for it on fourth and 1 and Joshua Kelley GETS UP over the line and flies into the end zone for the touchdown. A deserved score for the guy who set them up after his long rush. Keenan Allen makes the impressive catch in the back corner of the end zone for the two-point conversion to cut Buffalo’s lead down to 10 points, 24-14 with 4:51 left in the third quarter.
Andre Roberts with another solid return to the Buffalo 33, and Josh Allen takes the field, looking to put the Chargers back down and avoid a comeback attempt. Beasley gets the first look of the drive for 10 and the first in a game. He’s been a bit quiet as a receiver. After a 1 yard rush by Moss and 6-yard reception by Diggs, Allen is taken down on third and 3 by Joey Bosa for his third sack of the day now. Bojo punts it out of the end zone for the touchback after a disappointing drive that could come back to haunt the Bills.
Herbert gets things cooking here for his offense, delivering a strike to Keenan Allen for fifteen yards and also getting an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty in their favor for another 15 free yards. Things cool down as his next pass is incomplete for Ekeler. He hits Williams short of the first, and then Ekeler gets swallowed on third and 1 for no gain. A fourth and 1 at Buffalo’s 25, and coming into the beginning of the fourth quarter down 10, they run it up with gut and are SHUT DOWN! Buffalo holds like Hodor in GoT and force the turnover on downs! A huge opportunity that the Chargers blew and will regret not kicking a FG pays off massively for the Bills.
Singletary gets things popping on the first play as he runs for a strong 11 yards before getting the call again and taking it upfield before he just drops the ball for the fumble that is scooped up easily by Chargers’ safety Adderley for the turnover.
The Chargers now have a shot at redemption, getting the first turnover of the game, and starting with the ball in Bills’ territory. Ekeler continues his strong showing with a 13-yard rush and 4-yard catch to get closer to the red zone. Twitter continues to apologize to AJ Klein as he’s able to get to Ekeler in the backfield and stifle his momentum. Herbert takes a shot for the end zone that is broken up incomplete on third and 8…but those costly Bills’ penalties show their ugly head again. Ed Oliver and Tre White take down Herbert late and low for 15 yards and a free first to LA at Buffalo’s 16. Another Oliver penalty makes it’s a first and 5 at the 11-yard line and a pair of short Ekeler rushes make it third and short for the Chargers. I’M SORRY AJ KLEIN! Klein makes the tackle in the backfield for a 3-yard loss and forcing the Chargers to try and convert a fourth and 3. Instead, they elect to kick the FG and Badgley is good from 27 yards and the Chargers trail just a TD, 24-17 late in the game.
Things start out HOT for the Bills, as the Chargers go offsides and Allen gets a free play that he utilizes to hit Gabriel (not Gabe) Davis deep for 44 yards down to the LA 22-yard line! This can flat out ball folks and will be a great pairing with Diggs for years to come. So how do we follow up the big play? Allen fumbles the snap and the Chargers recover for the second Buffalo turnover in their last three plays.
Catching a HUGE break and down a score, the Chargers had just about nine minutes to try and do something. Herbert starts out throwing and completes a short pass to Henry for 4 before an incompletion to bring up third down, but Herbert is sacked by Ed Oliver and fumbles but recovers himself. The Chargers punt, and Roberts takes it from the Buffalo 1-yard line to the 30-yard line for a beautiful 29-yard return.
The Bills needed Josh Allen to step up here and either kill some clock or lead a scoring drive for some breathing room…and he makes his worst decision of the day as he drops back and fires an errant pass that is intercepted. Buffalo’s third turnover in their last seven plays and the offense is completely killing themselves.
Getting another opportunity to tie this game, Herbert and Ekeler connect twice for just a total of four yards bringing up the third and 6. Herbert drops back and throws for Hunter Henry…but Tre White hops the route and intercepts the pass! A turnover in favor of the Bills finally, and Buffalo gets the ball at their 35-yard line.
Zack Moss gets the nod off the bat and plays some bully ball as he bursts through the LA defense for 31 yards but gets called for an unsportsmanlike penalty, which takes away 15 yards. Singletary wants to get in on the action and takes the next carry himself for a clutch 24 yards down to the LA 25-yard line. A run for a Singletary loss and then a five yarder by Moss set up a third and 9, and Allen steps up. He literally steps up, throws in some misdirection and takes it himself for the first down. Not so fast, a fucking penalty on Buffalo. This team baffles me sometimes with it’s lack od discipline. A huge first turns into a third and 19 now. Allen settles and hits Diggs for nine yards to set up a 43-yard FG attempt for Bass who knocks it in and extends the Bills lead 27-17 over the Chargers.
The Chargers come out firing in the air as Herbert’s first three passes are an incompletion, eight yards to Henry and then another incompletion bringing up a fourth and 2 where he slings one to Guyton for 11 yards and the first. They really start to roll as Herbert dumps one short to Ekeler who takes it upfield for 14 yards and then evades a blitz and drills Henry again for another 15 yards, and suddenly the Chargers are in Buffalo territory with two minutes left. Ekeler tries to take a short pass for something but is stopped for three yards, and following an incompletion, the Chargers now face a third and 7. Herbert is sacked by the man AJ Klein for a loss of 10 yards, which forces a fourth and 27 after another penalty! A flashback of last week, as multiple Buffalo DBs are beaten on a “hail mary”-esque play with Herbert connecting a 55-yard prayer to Johnson for the first down at Buffalo’s 2-yard line. Buffalo gets another penalty with a roughing the passer on second and goal to move the Chargers even closer and give them a fresh set of downs. But they are shutdown by the Buffalo defense and the clock runs out.
The Buffalo Bills close out a sloppy win, 27-17, over the Los Angeles Chargers and move to 8-3 on the season!
Fulltime Grades:
Bills – B+ Well, well, well…we won, that’s what really matters, right? It wasn’t a pretty second half by any means between the turnovers and penalties, and against a better team, they probably would have lost. Allen had just 157 through the air, but the run game got going a bit, which was nice, and Brian Daboll did an excellent job calling this one. I still feel a lack of discipline with this team, and that gets right sooner than later, I hope.
Chargers – C … Herbert played well in this game, but you saw an over-reliance on him from HC Anthony Lynn at times to deliver, and you have to remember he’s a rookie. Their defense needs a lot of work, and some poor game management hurt them at times…but the Chargers are obviously missing some big pieces to be a competitive team. Their final sequence and coaching were embarrassing.
Kat’s Korner Takeaways:
- We don’t need Josh Allen to be Superman to win games. Allen had just 157 yards through the air today and 32 yards on the ground with two TDs and two turnovers. It reminded me a lot of Allen from last season, but this seems to be Allen’s trend when John Brown hasn’t played this year. Allen did enough, though, overcame injury, and made some tough plays to lead Buffalo to victory in this game. The win wasn’t pretty, but it showed we don’t need Josh Allen to be a superhero for this team to overcome adversity and win.
- PENALTIES FOR ALL! I wanted to just tear apart the Bills here for the recurring theme of them getting sloppy, undisciplined penalties in times that hurt the team most. Oliver and Tre getting that roughing the passer on a third-down incompletion was unacceptable, a Dawkins holding on a third-down conversion late was bad and the Jefferson roughing the passing at the end would’ve been much more costly, not given the situation. Buffalo did benefit themselves from some sloppy play and penalties from the Chargers, though, as they got 5 first downs awarded to them from Chargers penalties in this game. This game was a shit show, to say the least.
- Joey Bosa isn’t a human. Bosa sacked Allen three times today and had six tackles for a loss. The Bills OL was without Cody Ford and struggled to contain the superstar pass rusher. It’s crazy we won’t see the Bills’ top offensive line combo once this season. Something I hope gets ironed out this offseason, no one on this line other than Dawkins. Feliciano and MAYBE Morse is not safe.
- Those gosh darn turnovers are back at it again. The Buffalo offense was sloppy in the second half. Having a span of seven plays, they committed three turnovers. That’s flat out unacceptable and not something we’ve seen lately. Allen’s lone INT was a REALLY bad decision, and the Singletary fumble was pop warner level stuff. Just not great, and I’m glad it wasn’t a trend all game.
- McDermott outcoached Anthony Lynn. I respect the hell out of Anthony Lynn and always wonder if Buffalo should have let him go, but today he showed his flaws. There was some terrible clock management throughout the game, and the final sequence was just crazy. Imagine being in shotgun with a pass pro set and having your QB sprint under center to attempt a sneak with your line fanned out and no lead blockers. Dumb and a good way to get your rookie QB hurt. McDermott made great decisions all day and had some help from the mind of Brian Daboll.
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