Final Score:Chargers 22 – Bills 10
Location: Ralph Wilson Stadium, Orchard Park, NY
W-L records: Buffalo (2-1); San Diego (2-1)
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In a Nutshell:
**The Chargers offense came out firing early and their defense held Buffalo's attack in check. Down 10 points early the Bills were never able to threaten San Diego's lead in a 22-10 final.
San Diego with a good blend of run and pass put up 10 points on their first two possessions for an early 10-0 lead. They took that 10-point lead into halftime as the two teams traded field goals in the second quarter (13-3).
San Diego opened the second half, much the way they did the first with a long scoring drive covering 80 yards on 14 plays and culminating with a short touchdown pass to Eddie Royal over the middle to push the lead to 20-3.
Buffalo's offense finally put a touchdown drive together with Fred Jackson capping the possession on an 11-yard screen and run to the end zone to again make it a 10-point game (20-10) late in the third quarter.
The Chargers' pass pressure earned them a safety when EJ Manuel was flagged for intentional grounding from his own end zone with under three minutes to play for the final points of the game.
How it went down:
-- San Diego opened with a methodical touchdown drive getting a big play from Malcom Floyd on a 49-yard pass from Rivers. Five plays later Rivers found Eddie Royal for a three-yard touchdown pass (7-0).
--Nick Novak added a short field goal to push San Diego's lead to 10-0 midway through the second quarter.
--Buffalo finally got on the scoreboard with a 45-yard field goal from Dan Carpenter to finish an eight-play 65-yard scoring drive.
--Before the half was over, Novak re-established the Chargers' 10-point cushion with a 37-yard field goal (13-3).
--The Chargers came out of the locker room and put together an impressive 14-play 80-yard drive, highlighted by a pair of catches by LaDarius Green for 40 yards to help put San Diego in scoring range. Eddie Royal would finish the drive with his second touchdown of the day on a five-yard reception (20-3).
--The Bills offense put together their most effective drive of the game late in the third quarter. Fred Jackson accounted for 38 of the 67 yards on the scoring drive including an 11-yard touchdown catch and run to pull Buffalo again within 10 (20-10) at the end of the third quarter.
--EJ Manuel was flagged for intentional grounding on a throw he made from his own end zone under pressure, which by rule is a safety. It handed the Chargers two points and possession with 3:23 to play (22-10).
Stat lines
--Buffalo's pass defense, which had given up one pass play of 20 yards or more in the first two games, surrendered four in the first half.
--The Bills had six penalties for 50 yards in the first half, and finished with 11 for 101 yards.
--After trailing in the first two weeks for less than five minutes of game time, Buffalo was behind on the scoreboard for more than 54 minutes Sunday.
--Philip Rivers averaged 10.2 yards a past attempt in the game.
--Aaron Williams had a career-high 14 tackles.
--EJ Manuel was 23-39 passing for 238 yards and a touchdown. He was sacked three times.
Subplots:
--The Bills paid an awful lot of attention to Antonio Gates in coverage coming off his three-touchdown performance. It left other weapons for Philip Rivers to make use of in the passing, including other TE LaDarius Green, who contributed four catches for 64 yards.
--Buffalo run game found yards difficult to come by on the ground in the first half. They averaged just 2.8 per carry through the first two quarters.
--After six trips to the red zone in Week 2, Buffalo managed just one trip inside the Chargers' 20 in Week 3 until the final minute of regulation.
--Marcus Easley (knee) and Da'Norris Searcy (ankle) both left the game and did not return. Starting LG Chris Williams also left with a back injury.
Inactives:
CB Ross Cockrell, RB Bryce Brown, LB Keith Rivers, G Cyril Richardson, OT Cyrus Kouandjio, TE Chris Gragg.
Up Next:
The Bills will travel to Houston to take on the Texans next Sunday Sept. 28 at 1 p.m.
