by TYLER HATHAWAY
The Bills are back at home this week after opening their brand new stadium with an explosive win over the Detroit Lions. Coming to town this week on a cross-country trip is the Los Angeles Chargers, a playoff team a year ago that is in hot water early. Buffalo will look to remain unbeaten on Sunday. Here’s the breakdown:
LOS ANGELES CHARGERS (0-2/AFC West)
vs.
BUFFALO BILLS (2-0/AFC East)
Sunday, Highmark Stadium, 1:00 pm
Storyline #1: Josh Allen on early-season heater
Buffalo quarterback Josh Allen looks like he is in mid-season form despite it being Week 3.
The former MVP has compiled 674 yards of total offense with nine touchdowns and completed 66.7% of his passes as Buffalo has scored over 36 points in each of its first two games. He opened Highmark Stadium last week against Detroit with 317 total yards and five touchdowns as the Bills won 41-31.
“Anytime the ball’s in his hands, good things happen,” head coach Joe Brady said of Allen after Buffalo’s Week 2 win.
His efforts against the Lions earned him his 19th AFC Offensive Player of the Week award in his career.
Storyline #2: Chargers in big trouble
Los Angeles and Buffalo are on complete opposite trajectories after two weeks. The Chargers have dropped two head-scratchers to open the season, losing to both the Cardinals and Raiders by two scores at home. Both teams had picks inside the top 4 in this year’s NFL draft.
According to OptaSTATS, the Chargers are the first team since the 1926 Racine Tornadoes to lose back-to-back home games by double digits against teams who won less than 20% of their games the previous season. The Tornadoes went on to fold after their next game.
While the Chargers are definitely not in any danger of shutting down as a franchise, they are in danger of their season completely collapsing. Week 3 starts a seven game stretch that features road games in Buffalo, Seattle, Kansas City, and Baltimore, and games in Los Angeles against the Rams, Texans, and Broncos.
Storyline #3: Keon Coleman coming off solid performance
Third-year wide receiver Keon Coleman was the center of a lot of Bills off-season discourse. Fans, media heads, and even owner Terry Pegula made comments about the receiver after his struggles in his sophomore season, and some even wondered if he had played his last game in Buffalo.
The Florida State product silenced some critics on Thursday night. After DJ Moore went down with an injury in the first half, Coleman produced six catches for 63 yards. Four of his catches went for first downs, with a couple being chunk plays on third down.
While it was just one game, and the discourse will likely start up once more if he starts to struggle again, it was a great sign in Coleman’s development as a pass-catcher.
“Just great play calls by Joe (Brady), good balls by Josh, and just me being where I need to be,” Coleman told reporters after last week’s win of what drove his production. “Making a play, run the route, catching the ball, getting a first down.”
Key to the game #1: Generate pressure up front
Justin Herbert has been sacked six times through two games, and also has turned the ball over four times. The main reason teams have been able to generate a great pass rush is that the Chargers have an offensive line that has not only struggled but is also quite banged up.
The most impressive part of the Bills defense this year has been their defensive line play. Edge rusher Greg Rousseau currently leads the NFL in sacks with four, second-year tackle Deone Walker has made an impact (more on that later), and Buffalo also has veteran Ed Oliver who can wreck games. Buffalo will need to exploit this mismatch and dominate the trenches on Sunday.
Key to the game #2: Limit Ladd McConkey
One of the biggest flaws Buffalo has had early in the season has been defending the pass game. They gave up 274 passing yards to Texans quarterback CJ Stroud in Week 1 and 327 yards to Lions play-caller Jared Goff in Week 2.
Number one receivers have been eating against the Bills secondary. Nico Collins made seven catches for 75 yards and a touchdown in Week 1, and last week Amon-Ra St. Brown compiled nine receptions for 142 yards and two scores.
While Chargers wideout Ladd McConkey hasn’t had a big game this season yet, he is leading the teams in both receptions and yards and has led Los Angeles in receiving yards the past two years. If the Chargers are to compete on Sunday, they will need to get him involved, so it should be all hands on deck for the Buffalo secondary to limit his production.
X-Factor: Bills defensive lineman Deone Walker
Second-year defensive tackle Deone Walker has been a force so far for Buffalo. The Florida product has made great strides after his rookie season and currently has logged seven tackles, team-high three pass deflections, is first in pressures, according to Pro Football Focus. Walker also had a sack that helped clinch Week 1’s win against Houston.
With the Chargers having three offensive guards on their injury report, Walker has the potential to have a monster game and be a key catalyst in a Buffalo win.
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