Game Recap

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Bills 24, Chargers 16 | Final Score, recap + highlights

Sep 27, 2026 at 04:42 PM

Mike Maynard

Seasonal Writing Associate

Buffalo Bills vs Los Angeles Chargers, Regular Season, September 27, 2026 at Highmark Stadium.

Location: Highmark Stadium

Final score: Bills 24 Chargers 16

Records: Bills (3-0), Opponent (0-3)

Next opponent: Bills vs. Patriots Sunday, Oct. 4 at 1:00 p.m. EST

The Buffalo Bills took home a scrappy, 24-16 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday. Five turnovers by the offense were overshadowed by a great showing defensively, keeping the game close to allow for a comeback win. Despite not holding a lead till the fourth quarter, the Bills stayed in it and came through in the clutch.

Game Recap

Five turnovers by the Buffalo offense made coming away with the 24-16 victory difficult on Sunday. Struggling to string long drives together, the Chargers controlled the clock for a large chunk of the afternoon.

QB Josh Allen was sacked back-to-back times to end the third quarter and open the fourth while down 13-10. The quarterback had the ball punched out the second time around, with the Chargers recovering at the Buffalo 28-yard line.

Fresh off the team's third fumble of the day, the Bills defense got to work again. Safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson came out of nowhere to jump a pass up the seam at the one-yard line. The 28-year-old's first interception in Buffalo came when they needed it most, adding on a 41-yard return for good measure.

The Bills desperately needed to put their offensive woes behind them with the opportunity in the fourth quarter. Dealing with a fourth and seven near midfield, Allen looked dead to rights but flung a pass out to RB Ty Johnson in the left flat for a first down.

A holding was called on Buffalo after getting the yardage for the first and was followed up by two more of the same call on the offense. The holdings continued, with the next play resulting in defensive holding on the Chargers to extend the wacky drive.

RB James Cook III rattled off 26 yards on three carries to place the ball at the one-yard line. Allen took the snap and barreled into the end zone through the left side of the line for his second one-yard rushing touchdown of the game.

Allen's second rushing touchdown of the day made him the first QB in the Super Bowl era with multiple rushing touchdowns in three consecutive games.

It was Allen's 85th rushing touchdown of his career, moving him up to be tied with Marshawn Lynch at 17th on the NFL's all-time rushing touchdown list. Allen also tied Andre Reed and Thurman Thomas for the most scrimmage touchdowns in team history with 87 (two receiving).

Taking the lead 17-13 with 7:35 to play, the Bills relied on their defense to come up big once again.

OLB Greg Rousseau came through in the big moment, tallying his second sack of the game with just over six minutes to play. It was Rousseau's sixth sack in three games, surpassing Bruce Smith for the most sacks by a Bill through the first three games of the season.

Los Angeles later turned the ball over on downs, allowing Buffalo to control the ball once again.

With the momentum fully on their side, the Bills made their way down the field. Cook finished things off with a three-yard rushing touchdown up the middle, giving his team a comfortable 24-13 lead with just over three minutes left in the fourth quarter.

Cook tallied 154 yards in the win on 24 carries with the touchdown. Allen added 22 yards of his own with his legs on eight attempts with two touchdowns. The QB also threw for 204 yards through the air.

Buffalo's defense played its best game of the season on Sunday, forcing three punts and four field goals despite rough field position on multiple occasions. Just two of the five Los Angeles drives after turnovers ended with points.

The beginning of the day for the Bills couldn't have started much worse. A fumble from Cook on the first play from scrimmage gave the Chargers' offense great field position.

Despite facing multiple third downs, Los Angeles continued on toward the end zone. On a third-and-one from the one-yard line, DT Deone Walker busted into the backfield but was unable to wrap up Chargers RB Keaton Mitchell. Buffalo faced a 7-0 deficit less than five minutes into the game.

The Bills searched for an offensive spark as the last few minutes of the first quarter ticked down. Following a holding penalty, Allen ripped a pass over the middle intended for WR DJ Moore with a defender in the area.

Chargers S Genesis Smith crashed down hard on the deep dig, intercepting the ball before Moore could interfere. Smith wasn't done there, making another play for his squad on the following defensive possession.

Moore again was shadowed by Los Angeles's safety just minutes later, this time deep down the middle of the field on a post route. Allen decided to test the matchup with a deep bomb.

The pair bobbled the pass between each other as they hit the ground. Smith came out of the pile with the ball, with the referees signaling that it never made contact with the grass. This gave Smith his second interception in just three plays.