The forgetful season continued as the Bolts added another game to their loss column falling to 3-8 after a sloppy 27-17 loss to the Buffalo Bills Sunday morning. With a roster possessing deep talent across various positions, 3-8 simply isn’t good enough.
Anthony Lynn has been the captain of the ship since 2017 with the most talented roster in his time as Head Coach of the Chargers, yet Lynn is suffering his worst season in his four years at the helm.
The Chargers started the game on the wrong foot falling behind fast and early. With 6:31 remaining in the first quarter Justin Herbert threw a 5-yard strike at the goal line to Keenan Allen executing the only Charger touchdown of the first half.
“Offensively I thought we were out of sync a little bit,” said Lynn. “We dropped some balls early, threw some bad balls, at times we didn’t run it consistently. We were just out of sync.”
Buffalo brought out all the tricks while jumping out to a 17-6 halftime lead. The Bills second score of the first half was a Josh Allen swing pass to wide receiver Cole Beasley who then slung the football for a 20-yard touchdown pass to his position mate Gabriel Davis completely fooling the Chargers secondary.
Josh Allen started off the second half driving the Bills down the field capping off the drive with a 3-yard rushing touchdown for a 24-6 lead.
The Bolts responded with Joshua Kelley punching in a touchdown from the 1-yard line followed by a Keenan Allen catch for the 2-point conversion cutting the lead to 24-14.
jump the pile!@SmoothplayJK | 📺: CBS pic.twitter.com/ZQqnbyixti
— Los Angeles Chargers (@Chargers) November 29, 2020
Buffalo played messy football in the second half allowing the Charges multiple opportunities to take control of the game with two fumbles and an interception but Lynn’s Chargers couldn’t capitalize only scoring a field goal from the presented turnovers.
“We had our opportunities and we just didn’t execute,” said Justin Herbert.
After missing eight weeks, Austin Ekeler returned to action to top 100 yards from scrimmage and haul in 11 passes. It marked the fourth 10-catch game of his career, the most in NFL history by an undrafted running back.
“It was the ultimate test to see how my healing and rehab has been,” said Ekeler. “Got back in the rhythm, didn’t quite feel one hundred percent but for the most part felt pretty good and that was the goal for this game.”
“He’s such a special player,” said Herbert. “Whether it’s in the run game or the pass game he’s a threat for both, it was great to have him back in the lineup.”
Justin Herbert topped 300 passing yards for the sixth time this year, tying for the most by a rookie in NFL history. Herbert’s touchdown pass in the first half set the all-time rookie mark for scoring passes in November, with 11. Herbert also holds the second-longest streak of games with a touchdown pass to start a career, doing so in all 10 games played in his rookie year.
Joey Bosa had the best performances of his career on Sunday, setting a single-game career high with three sacks. His three sacks brought him to 47.5 for his career, moving to sole possession of fifth in Chargers history past Hall of Fame linebacker Junior Seau.
“It’s good to see it all come together,” said Joey Bosa. “It’s hard to feel excited after such a tough game like that.”
“I thought he played outstanding,” said Lynn. “He was pressuring the quarterback all day, he had a fumble recovery, hustled well. I thought he had one of his best days.”
The Chargers will try to salvage what is left of the season when they welcome the Patriots to SoFi Stadium next Sunday.
