CHARGERS (5-9) vs. BILLS (8-6)
When: Saturday, 5 p.m.
Where: SoFi Stadium
TV/Radio: Ch. 4, Peacock/98.7 FM; 105.5 FM/94.3 FM (Spanish)
Line: Bills by 12½ points
Notable injury designations:
Chargers: OUT: WR Keenan Allen (heel), OLB Joey Bosa (foot); DOUBTFUL: DB Deane Leonard (heel), LB Tanner Muse (knee); QUESTIONABLE: CB Essang Bassey (concussion), TE Nick Vannett (back), DL Nick Williams (shoulder).
Bills: OUT: S Micah Hyde (neck stinger), WR Justin Shorter (hamstring); QUESTIONABLE: CB Kaiir Elam (ankle), DE A.J. Epenesa (rib), RB Ty Johnson (shoulder), DT DaQuan Jones (pectoral).
What’s at stake: The last few days have been tumultuous for the Chargers. Their coach, Brandon Staley, and their general manager, Tom Telesco, were fired last Friday after a humiliating 63-21 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders only hours earlier. Giff Smith makes his debut as the Chargers’ interim coach. Getting back on the field and playing a competitive game against the Bills was a constant theme from the Chargers’ locker room this week. The Bills need a victory over the Chargers in order to stay in the hunt for the AFC East championship.
Who’s better: When the schedule was announced way back in May, this seemed like this would be a matchup worthy of a national audience. Now, it seems like it should come with a parental warning. The Bills are coming off victories over the Kansas City Chiefs and Dallas Cowboys in consecutive weeks after their bye week. Quarterback Josh Allen and his teammates have had some ups and downs to this point, but appeared to have found their game at the right time in the season.
Matchup to watch: Can the Chargers keep the Bills’ offense under control? Turnovers were too much to overcome during their loss last week to the Raiders, when they gave up a franchise-record 63 points. Buffalo running back James Cook is third in the NFL with 1,401 yards from scrimmage. He rushed for 179 yards and one touchdown on 25 carries last week against Dallas.
Chargers win if: The Chargers don’t need perfection Saturday, but it would help. They can’t have interceptions. They can’t have fumbles. They can’t have mental errors. They must avoid penalties. Even then, it’s going to take something special in order to pull off an upset against the heavily favored Bills.
Fantasy sleeper: Quarterback Easton Stick completed 23 of 32 passes for 257 yards with three touchdowns and one interception against the Raiders, his first start in five seasons in the NFL. He took over the job after Justin Herbert underwent season-ending finger surgery, and it’s his to keep through the final three games.
Prediction: It looked and sounded as if the pressure was off the Chargers after Staley and Telesco were fired. What have they got to lose at this point? They lost their coach and GM. They were embarrassed in front of a national audience. They do have plenty to play for, though. Jobs for next season and beyond come to mind. In the state they’re in, with Herbert and so many other key Chargers sidelined, it would be crazy to expect an upset. It might be just as crazy to expect a competitive game. Bills 35, Chargers 17.
