It was a bit of a stressful Sunday for the Buffalo Bills. While the end result took away that stress, the Los Angeles Chargers didn’t make things easy for them in Orchard Park.
This game showed that it doesn’t matter what your opponent’s record is. Any team can be tested and beaten on any given day. While the Chargers had the lead for most of the game, the Bills finished strong and managed to pull away at the right time to get the 24-16 win to advance to 3-0.
While Buffalo's first two games were all about the offense thriving, they were the unit that almost cost them this game. Luckily, the Bills' defense played extremely well despite having to save the offense from five turnovers. However, Buffalo's offense managed to do their part in the 4th quarter to ultimately close out the game.
Bills winners and losers from close Week 3 vs. Chargers
Winners
S C.J. Gardner-Johnson
If it wasn't for C.J. Gardner-Johnson, the Bills may have lost this game early on in the 4th quarter. After a Josh Allen fumble to give the Chargers the ball in Bills territory, Justin Herbert lauched the ball towards the endzone in which Gardner-Johnson was at the right place to make the interception and return it 41 yards.
This was the ultimate momentum changer for the Bills, because the offense capitalized off of the interception and punched the ball into the endzone to take their first lead of the game.
OLB Greg Rousseau
It's official, the Bills have an elite pass rusher and his name is Greg Rousseau. For the third consecutive game, Rousseau recorded 2 sacks which gives him 6 on the season. Since he managed to record 2 sacks, he now has the most sacks in team history through the first three games, and he became the third player in NFL history to have three straight 2+ sack games to open a season, per the Buffalo Bills' PR team.
He has become the one player from Sean McDermott's defense that has thrived big time under Jim Leonhard's scheme.
RB James Cook
James Cook took a lot of heat when he fumbled on the opening play of the game. For as great as Cook is, he has had a bit of a fumbling issue throughout his career. Luckily, he didn’t let that fumble get in his head as he rushed for 154 yards and a score against the Chargers, averaging over 6 yards per carry.
DC Jim Leonhard
Bills fans had been questioning Jim Leonhard's defense through the first two games, since they had given up 62 points in that span. However, it was still a new scheme and it's still the beginning of the season. This game against the Chargers was a confidence boost. This defense played great situational football and overcame the Bills' offense's turnovers. There has to be credit given to Leonhard and how he responded from the last two games.
CB Davison Igbinosun
Christian Benford went down with a toe injury, puttting rookie Davison igbinosun in his place. In his replacement of Benford, Igbinosun managed to deflect a pass and he finished third in total tackles on the defense. He had the chance to show just how solid he is in man coverage. If he can continue to work on his holding penalty issue that he had in college, he could become a franchise player in a few years for the Bills.
Losers
QB Josh Allen
It's very rare to see Allen on this list that isn't in the winners section, but here we are. He had three turnovers which included two first-half interceptions. His fumble in the 4th quarter could have been the ultimate deciding factor as the end result, but C.J. Gardner-Johnson bailed him out.
Allen looked a little lost at times on Sunday, it's undeniable. Going into next week's game against the New England Patriots, he will need to clean it up and figure out what he needs to do differently.
Entire offensive line
To Allen's credit, his protection in front of him was close to nonexistent. The Bills' offensive line was a mess as they gave up a ton of pressure throughout the game. There was only one sack that Allen took that wasn't on the unit. The other three were definitely the offensive line's fault.
Not only was the protection bad, but Dion Dawkins had multiple penalties, and both Spencer Brown and Alec Anderson had a penalty themselves as well. This is just part of the undisciplined problem that the Bills have in terms of penalties.
OLB Bradley Chubb
Bradley Chubb had a quiet game in terms of production, and he also had two different penalties himself. He finished the game with 3 total tackles and 2 QB hits, but he also had an offsides and roughing the passer penalty.
While Greg Rousseau has been thriving as a pass rusher, Chubb hasn't been the difference maker that fans had been hoping for through the first three weeks.
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