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Chargers Knock Off Bills 22-10
Dominating effort by San Diego gives the Bills their first loss.
by Steve Saslow
The Skinny:
The great start to the football season came to a crashing halt as the visiting San Diego Chargers controlled the game throughout and sent the Bills to their first defeat of the season 22-10 at Ralph Wilson Stadium. Philip Rivers threw two touchdown passes in building a 20-3 lead early in the third quarter as they used ball control to dominate the football game. Rivers finished 18 of 25 for 256 yards. Donald Brown ran the ball 31 times for just 62 yards. The Bills lone touchdown was a Fred Jackson 11 yard score on a screen pass. Dan Carpenter added a 45 yard field goal on a very windy day. Nick Novak hit two field goals for the Chargers and they added a safety when EJ Manuel was called for intentional grounding in the end zone. The offense seemed out of sync throughout as there were little holes for the running game and Manuel didn't seem to be on the same page as his receivers for most of the game. He finished 23 of 39 for 238 yards with many of those stats coming in garbage time. There were no turnovers for either team in this game.
The Turning Point:
Bomb To Floyd: The Chargers were making many big plays on offense but the biggest one ended the little bit of momentum the Bills had in the first half. Dan Carpenter had just hit a 45 yard field goal to pull the Bills within a touchdown when on the next play from scrimmage. Rivers hit a wide open Malcolm Floyd for 49 yards to set the Chargers up for a late field goal to get their 10 point lead back at the half.
The Big Drive:
The Start Of The 2nd Half: They had their second drive of the game that lasted half a quarter. They went 80 yards in 14 plays taking the first 7:29 off the clock of the third quarter. Rivers hit Eddie Royal for a 4 yard touchdown pass on third and goal. It was the 3rd third down conversion of the drive.
The Big Drive II:
The Chargers First FG: They went 89 yards in 17 plays taking a whopping 7:51 off the clock. The Bills got a moral victory holding them to a field goal when they had two shots from the two yard line. The drive was helped by two defensive penalties and finally stopped on a Marcell Dareus pressure. Eddie Royal had a 23 yard reception on the drive.
Stat I Did Like:
Turnovers: The Bills did not give the ball away for a second straight week. They didn't force any turnovers.
Stat I Didn't Like:
Penalties: 11 of them for 101 yards and the Chargers got five first downs off of penalties.
Quick Slants:
- Andre Reed received his Hall of Fame ring at a halftime ceremony.
- Several members of the Super Bowl teams were in attendance besides Reed. As usual Jim Kelly and Thurman Thomas was there. Bruce Smith came up for Reed's ceremony. Frank Reich and Pete Metzelaars were on the opposite sideline with the Chargers coaching staff and Mark Kelso was in the radio booth.
- Another #83 wide receiver led the charge as Lee Evans was the one waving the flag as the Bills took the field.
- Wind was a big factor as big storms were nearby. It was so windy they couldn't use the Buffalos that shoot out fireworks before the game.
Key Matchup Results:
The winners of the battles highlighted in our preview article:
RB C.J. Spiller vs. LB Manti Te'o: Winner: Te'o. Spiller just couldn't get anything going on the ground.
WR Sammy Watkins vs. CB Brandon Flowers: Winner: Flowers. Watkins was never a factor in the game
DE Mario Williams vs. RT D.J. Fluker: Winner: Fluker. Super Mario didn't make any plays.
LB Preston Brown vs. TE Antonio Gates: Winner: Brown. Although he wasn't on Gates the whole game he was not a factor but everyone else was.
Keys To The Game Results:
How the keys highlighted in our preview article turned out:
1. Pressure Rivers: Failure! Even though he was sacked twice he had plenty of time to throw for the most part.
2. Red Zone Efficiency: Failure! They only got their twice and scored one touchdown but needed to get their more often for a chance to win this game.
3. Protect The Football: Success! They didn't turn the ball over but they had to punt an awful lot.
My Take:
There was plenty of goodwill and great feelings coming out of Western New York so far on the young season. While all that hasn't vanished based on this one game the mood has definitely been dampened. Losing to the Chargers is nothing to be embarrassed about since they are a very good football team but coming in flat and getting totally dominated was disheartening to say the least. The team needs to use this game as learning tool and not let it start a free fall.
What's Ahead:
The Bills hit the road the next two weeks starting with a date in Houston against old friend Ryan Fitzpatrick and the Texans. Both teams are coming off their first loss of the season.
Gameballs
Aaron Williams - He led the team with 14 tackles and helped keep Gates from being involved in the offense.
Fred Jackson - Had 112 total yards rushing and receiving and scored the team's only touchdown.
Colton Schmidt - Averaged 45.2 yards on five punts, two were inside the 20.
Goats
Stephon Gilmore - Missed a handful of tackles in the game.
Nickell Robey - Was beaten for a couple of big plays early before heading to the bench.
Leodis McKelvin - Was beaten for a long play and was late in coverage on several occasions.
Player Of The Week
Aaron Williams - He seemed to be one of the only defensive players to make plays as he was very active.
 Positional Breakdown and Grades
NFL.com Gamebook
Chargers Game Preview
Gameday Homepage
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