After their surprising start to the 2014 season, the Buffalo Bills came down to earth on Sunday against the San Diego Chargers, a formidable opponent that made the playoffs in 2013 and upset the defending champion Seattle Seahawks last week. The Chargers prevailed, 22-10, with a workmanlike performance in which they seemed in control from the opening kickoff. They didn’t have overwhelming statistics, and their running game didn’t accomplish much, but their veteran quarterback, Philip Rivers, picked apart the Buffalo secondary with a surgical perfection, continuously connecting with his receivers in third and long situations to keep drives alive. After beating Seattle mostly by controlling the ball, the Chargers used the same formula to bury the Bills. Rivers guided his offense to long, time-consuming drives that resulted in touchdowns on his team’s first possession of the game, and on their first possession after halftime, and settled for field goals on the others. He was able to beat Buffalo’s secondary for big plays on several occasions, the type of deep passes defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz’s unit didn’t give up in the first 2 games. Speaking of coordinators, San Diego’s offensive coordinator is a familiar face to Bills’ fans – former backup QB Frank Reich – and his game plan was perfect. Rivers, an eleven year veteran with the reputation of being a gunslinger, ran the offense perfectly and patiently, keeping the Bills’ defense off guard and confused all day. It was the type of offense Reich ran when he had his chances to play here. San Diego clearly won the battle of the trenches on both sides of the ball, keeping Rivers mostly comfortable in the pocket on offense and harassing Bills’ QB EJ Manuel all day on defense.
After getting contributions from all three phases in the first 2 games that resulted in wins, the Bills were flat on both offense and defense this time. The secondary was torched, but at the same time the Bills’ vaunted defensive line didn’t generate much pressure on Rivers, especially early in the game when the outcome was still in doubt. Also, this was a game in which Buffalo needed Manuel to step up his game and lead the offense on scoring drives, and he wasn’t up to the task, looking nervous and uncomfortable most of the afternoon. His accuracy wasn’t good, and his decision-making even worse. He struggled all day to connect with his wide receivers, seemingly afraid of forcing throws, and generally looked for his safety valves – either the backs or tight end – on short throws instead of going deep. The worst decision ended any doubt about the final result, when Manuel threw the ball away from the end zone and was called for intentional grounding, resulting in a safety. The Bills now go on the road for 2 weeks, visiting Houston and old friend Ryan Fitzpatrick next week, followed by a trip to Detroit to face the Lions, who are usually pretty tough to beat at home. Manuel will be under pressure to outplay Fitzpatrick, who he replaced as the Bills’ starter. It’ll be interesting to see how he handles that challenge.