CHARGERS (0-2) at BILLS (2-0)
When: 10 a.m. PT Sunday
Where: Highmark Stadium, Orchard Park, N.Y.
TV/Radio: FOX (Ch. 11); 640 AM/103.9/98.3 FM (Spanish)
Line: Bills by 7.5
Notable injury designations
Chargers: OUT: LG Kayode Awosika (fibula), TE Charlie Kolar (forearm), S Elijah Molden (hamstring), OL Trey Pipkins III (knee), WR Brenan Thompson (quadricep), DL Dalvin Tomlinson (hamstring); QUESTIONABLE: QB Trey Lance (groin), CB Rodney Shelley (hamstring).
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Bills: OUT: DB Jordan Hancock (hamstring), DL T.J. Sanders (illness); QUESTIONABLE: WR Keon Coleman (ankle), WR DJ Moore (shoulder), DL Ed Oliver (hip), G Ar’Maj Reed-Adams (elbow).
What’s at stake: They’re all must-win in a 17-game season, right? But this one Sunday is really a must-win for the Chargers. After losses in Week 1 to the Arizona Cardinals and in Week 2 to the Las Vegas Raiders, the Chargers can’t afford another defeat if they hope to hit double-digit victories and advance to the playoffs for the third time in Jim Harbaugh’s three years as coach. Only two teams out of 123 that started 0-3 made the playoffs in the 21st century, according to research by the crack staff at Fox Sports 1.
Who’s better: The Bills are the better team on paper and on the grass field at their new home, Highmark Stadium. Quarterback Josh Allen has sparked the Bills’ offense with five touchdown passes and four TD runs through the season’s first two games. Buffalo has scored an NFL-leading 77 points after victories over the Houston Texans in Week 1 and the Detroit Lions in Week 2. The Bills have been resting and preparing to host to the Chargers since defeating the Lions 41-31 on Sept. 17, a Thursday night showcase for their debut in their new stadium.
Matchup to watch: Justin Herbert versus Everybody. That’s the matchup to watch, as in, can Herbert find the rhythm and confidence that was so glaringly absent during the Chargers’ losses to the Cardinals and Raiders? He was the second-best quarterback on the field in each game, overshadowed by the Cardinals’ Jacoby Brissett in the season-opening game and by the well-traveled veteran Kirk Cousins of the Raiders in the second. Through two games, Herbert is averaging only 200 yards passing, well off his career average of 260 yards per game.
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Chargers win if: The Chargers’ margin for error is miniscule at this point, and facing the high-energy Bills makes it even smaller, assuming that’s even possible. Herbert and the Chargers’ offense must click, they must avoid turnovers and the line must protect the quarterback. Defensively, the Chargers must limit Allen’s creativity and prevent the plays for big gains that he’s renowned for making. Sounds like a tall order, right? Well, only because it is.
Fantasy sleeper: Herbert is bound to have a breakout game at some point, and this looks like the right place, the right time and the right opponent. Herbert might not fashion a victory despite having a big game because the Bills’ offense is really humming right now, but the odds are he’ll put something into motion that looks more like what Chargers offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel has had in mind. The Bills have given up an average of 31 points per game in their first two games, not exactly championship-caliber defense so far.
Prediction: Too much has to go right for the Chargers to win on the road against a superior opponent, a team that’s lived up to preseason expectations. The Chargers simply haven’t come close to what the hype machine predicted for them. The oddsmakers list the Chargers as underdogs for the first time this season, and it’s by a wide margin. Bills 34, Chargers 20.
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