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This matchup has been circled on the calendars of everyone in Western New York since the schedule was released in April. This matchup has so much intrigue that Bills owner Ralph Wilson said before the season that he wants to win this game more than the Super Bowl. The biggest battle will be to see which quarterback fairs better, the current Bills QB or the past, popular one. Rob Johnson is coming off of his best game of the year lifting the Bills to their first win of the season. Doug Flutie also is coming off of a stellar performance as he led the Chargers to a big win against the Broncos. San Diego is known as "Buffalo West" since former Bills GM John Butler brought Marcellus Wiley, John Holecek, and Sam Rogers to the west coast along with Flutie.
Facts and Figures
| Matchup: | Buffalo (1-4) at San Diego (4-2) |
| Date: | Sunday October 28, 2001 |
| Place: | Qualcom Stadium |
| Time: | 4:15pm |
| Television: | CBS |
| Announcers: | Craig Bolerjack and Trevor Matich |
| Spread: | Chargers by 8 |
| Series: | Chargers Lead 18-10-2 (Buf 2-1 Playoffs) |
| Last Meeting: | Bills 27-24 last year in OT |
| Chargers Off: | Rush (10th); Pass (16th); overall (10th) |
| Chargers Def: | Rush (3rd); Pass (10th); overall (5th) |
| Bills Offense: | Rush (12th); Pass (18th); overall (17th) |
| Bills Defense: | Rush (T-27th); Pass (16th); overall (23rd) |
Injury Update
The Bills are finally getting healthier as they used the 10 days off before the Jaguars game and the 10 days off after it to hopefully get most of the injured players back for this week. Phil Hansen and Leif Larsen have similar elbow injuries and missed the last two games. Hansen is likely to return this week but Larsen has been more limited in practice and may need another week. Jeremy McDaniel is back practicing after getting a high ankle sprain and should play this weekend. Tony Driver has a separated shoulder, no word yet on if he'll be able to go this week. They did get two new injuries against the Jaguars. Bill Conaty separated his shoulder but had it popped back in and finished the game. He is expected to practice later in the week and play this week. Jonas Jennings suffered a foot sprain and it is unknown yet on if he'll be able to play on Sunday.
The Chargers suffered a big injury against the Broncos last week. Their best defensive weapon, Junior Seau pulled a groin muscle and is receiving electrolyte treatments all week. He is cautiously optimistic that he will be able to play against the Bills. Their other defensive star Rodney Harrison is nursing a sore hamstring and is listed as day to day.
We will be updating this injury section, as we get closer to gameday. For complete injury news throughout the week and the Official NFL Injury Report when released go to our Injury Page.
Key Matchups
QB Rob Johnson vs. QB Doug Flutie: Ok, we know they don't play against each other head to head but everyone will watch to see who will play better. The better quarterback on this day will probably have their team win this grudge match.
DT Pat Williams vs. RB LaDainian Tomlinson: This rookie is a joy to watch as he has all the skills to be a great back in this game for years to come. Williams will be the first line of defense in the middle holding Tomlinson back from big gains or making him jump it to the outside.
CB Antoine Winfield vs. WR Curtis Conway: Conway is Flutie's best weapon downfield and if Winfield can blanket him in coverage that will help the Bills concentrate on the running game.
RB Travis Henry vs. SS Rodney Harrison: Harrison is a solid run stuffer and one of the best safeties in the game. He will come up on running plays more often than not and Henry will have to watch out for him every time he gets past the line of scrimmage with the ball.
LT Jonas Jennings or Jon Carman vs. DE Marcellus Wiley: Wiley will pumped up for playing against his former team and he has played well since coming back from a pre season injury. He will be licking his chops going up against either the rookie Jennings or the first year player Carman. Jennings has played well and Carman did a good job against the Jaguars after Jennings went down. He will even have to do better if he starts this week against the budding star Wiley.
Game Plan
When The Bills Have The Ball: Expect the Bills to continue the wide open attack that has worked pretty well over the last two weeks. They will probably throw first and run second trying to take advantage of Eric Moulds advantage over the Chargers secondary. To win the game the Bills need score touchdowns when they get in the red zone, something they haven't done well this year.
When The Chargers Have The Ball: Flutie wants this game in the worst way. Expect the Chargers to mix his mobility with a heavy dose of Tomlinson, who could run wild against the Bills defense. Flutie will improvise a lot and that could work against the Bills inexperienced defense.
Bills Daily Prediction
It may come down to who wants to win the grudge match war. Flutie always has a chip on his shoulder and loves to prove teams wrong when they get rid of him. He will be fired up for this one and look for a good deal of the trademark Flutie magic to be used against the Bills and that will be the difference. Johnson and the Bills will have some heart of their own and keep it close but not enough to win: Chargers 27, Bills 24
Season Prediction Record: (2-3)
Season Record Against The Spread: (2-3)
Complete Statistical Matchup Game Analysis and Review - Coming Sunday Night!Positional Breakdown and Grades - Coming Sunday night!
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