ORCHARD PARK — Around eight months ago, the Buffalo Bills were on the verge of doing something unthinkable.
They committed five turnovers and still had a chance to knock off the AFC’s No. 1 seed on the road. The Bills just couldn’t stop the Denver Broncos one last time in regulation and ultimately lost 33-30 in the divisional round, a loss that cost coach Sean McDermott his job.
The stakes weren’t quite as high with the injury-riddled Los Angeles Chargers, but it was the first opportunity for head coach Joe Brady and defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard to respond with a game that went haywire.
Josh Allen was out of sorts. He wasn’t making decisions he normally makes and the Bills couldn’t stop giving the ball back to the Chargers. Five of the first nine possessions of the game ended with a turnover.
And yet, the Bills beat the Chargers 24-16 without needing any end-of-game heroics.
“Thank God our defense showed up today,” Bills center Connor McGovern said. “They had our back all night, no matter what position we put them in. … They kept us in it the entire game, until the second half, we finally found our footing.”
The defense didn’t find it to be as concerning as the offense. Including a James Cook fumble on the opening play from scrimmage, the Bills gave the Chargers possession in Buffalo territory three times and only gave up 10 points.
“You got Josh Allen, bro,” Bills safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson said. “You got Josh Allen, so there’s no reason for nobody to get sad when you got the best quarterback in the league that can damn-near do anything. So you got to just go out there as a defense and just (expletive) play.”
Before the game, most people wouldn’t have been so comfortable if the game was placed in the hands of the defense. They gave up 31 points apiece in the first two games, with half their drives ending in a punt or turnover and half ending in a score.
Giving up 348 yards to the Chargers won’t do much to help them in the standings, but they did enough to get into key situations that allowed them to rush the passer. The Chargers went 6 of 15 on third down and Greg Rousseau tallied two more sacks, making him the first Bills player with two sacks in three consecutive games since Bryce Paup in 1995.
The key play in the game came when Gardner-Johnson baited Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert into an interception near the goal line — Buffalo’s first interception of the season — just three plays after Allen fumbled at his own 28. Gardner-Johnson also returned it 41 yards.
Even though the Bills only gave up 10 points off five turnovers, they made sure to convert on the one takeaway in their favor. And the defense didn’t give the lead back, forcing a turnover on downs — sparked by a Rousseau sack — that allowed the Bills to take a two-score lead.
With the Chargers operating with their third-string left guard and third-string tight end, the Bills knew they would have an advantage if they could get them to third-and-long situations. And Herbert, who went 20 of 34 for 226 yards, went 2 of 8 for 34 yards on third-and-7 or longer in the game.
“Obviously we didn’t play great,” Bills linebacker Terrel Bernard said. “… The fun part of a good team is that when your best isn’t out there, you’ve got to find a way. That’s what we did. We came up with big stops.”
Perhaps the Bills will eventually get a game where offense and defense play well in the same game. The Bills haven’t been able to find much continuity defensively and they may not get it soon.
Cornerback Christian Benford injured his toe in the second half and wore a walking boot after the game, thrusting rookie Davison Igbinosun into the game full-time after rotating sporadically with Maxwell Hairston for most of the first three games.
The Bills did get defensive tackle Ed Oliver back after missing Week 2 with a hip injury. Oliver only had one tackle, but three quarterback hits, including one that nearly resulted in a strip-sack in the fourth quarter.
Buffalo is set to get a New England Patriots team coming off a 35-6 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars and an offense that has sputtered through the first three games. Last year’s MVP runner-up Drake Maye has just one touchdown and six interceptions thus far.
“Josh had to carry us for two weeks,” Oliver said. “And maybe every now and again, the defense might have to step up. At some point, maybe we both start clicking at the same time. Then we’ll have something to talk about.”