The Buffalo Bills are 3-0, man. Their new Highmark Stadium saw them stay absolutely unbeaten on Sunday, taking down the Chargers 17-13, but let’s be real, this was no pretty picture. Compared to their first two games, this was a straight-up disaster class from the Bills’ offense, racking up a mind-blowing five turnovers. But somehow, some way, thanks to Josh Allen’s pair of clutch tush-push touchdowns and some wild defensive plays, Buffalo clawed its way out of that mess with a W, keeping the Chargers completely winless.
The Turnover Trainwreck That Almost Derailed Everything
Seriously, five giveaways in Week 3? Five! The Chargers only had one. It’s been since 1997, September 21st to be exact, against the Colts with Jim Harbaugh himself under center, that Buffalo won a game with a minus-four turnover differential or worse. That’s how bad it was. You could feel the momentum shift from the jump. Bills’ first play from scrimmage, James Cook coughs it up, fumbles the ball away. ARE YOU KIDDING ME? A few drives later, Josh Allen gets picked off by Genesis Smith. Rough start, dude.
Then, opening the second quarter, Bills still scoreless, Smith does it again! He grabs another Allen pass, his second pick of the day. You’re watching this and thinking, “There’s no way they pull this off.” Buffalo finally started to move the chains, closing the gap by halftime. But then in the third quarter, Dalton Kincaid takes a huge hit, ball pops loose, another fumble recovered by the Chargers. And just when you thought it couldn’t get crazier, the first play of the fourth quarter, a Khalil Mack takedown on Allen gets reversed to a fumble after review. That’s Allen’s third turnover personally. Just brutal.
How They Pulled Off The Impossible
So, how in the world did Buffalo win this game? Simple: the Chargers blew every single opportunity they were given. Five Bills turnovers, plus another 10 penalties on Buffalo, and Los Angeles just could not capitalize. Justin Herbert even threw an interception himself! They kept settling for field goals when they should have been punching it in. It was C.J. Gardner-Johnson who snagged Herbert’s pick, giving Buffalo a shot.
Right after Allen’s third turnover, Herbert throws his own interception, and that, my friends, was the turning point. Buffalo somehow strung together a 13-play touchdown drive, grinding through penalties, with Allen sneaking one into the end zone late to seal the deal. It wasn’t pretty, not by a long shot, but Buffalo found a way to win ugly, and they are still undefeated at 3-0. It’s wild to watch a team stumble so much and still walk away with a victory. What does this mean for the rest of their season? If they can win *this* sloppy, imagine what they do when they actually play clean.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by The Sporting News.
Leave a Reply