The Bills survived a messy afternoon and still walked out of their second game at the new Highmark Stadium with a 24-16 win over the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday.
Buffalo wore its debut “Nickel City” uniforms and leaned on Josh Allen’s legs when the offense kept handing the ball away. Allen ran for two touchdowns, including the go-ahead 1-yard score with 7:35 left, and the Bills finished off the win when James Cook powered in from 3 yards out four minutes later. Buffalo’s defense then slammed the door, forcing Justin Herbert to throw incomplete on fourth down at the Chargers 45.
It was a victory built in spite of itself. The Bills turned it over five times, with Allen throwing two interceptions and losing a fumble.
Cook and tight end Dalton Kincaid also put the ball on the ground. Even so, Buffalo improved to 3-0.
The Chargers had their chances and didn’t cash in. Three of Buffalo’s giveaways came in Bills territory, but Los Angeles couldn’t fully punish them.
The Chargers did strike first after Cook’s fumble on Buffalo’s opening snap from scrimmage, with Herbert hitting Keaton Mitchell on a 1-yard shovel pass. Then came Cameron Dicker’s 31-yard field goal after Allen’s first interception, pushing L.A. to a 10-0 lead in the first quarter.
After that, the Chargers’ offense settled into the same rough rhythm that had defined its first two games. Los Angeles came into Sunday having averaged 14 points per game, and the issues showed again: more punts and turnovers than touchdowns through the opening stretch, with seven punts and five turnovers against four touchdowns in those first two games.
The loss dropped the Chargers to 0-3, their worst start since they opened the 2017 season with three straight defeats.
For Buffalo, the win marked a familiar early-season pattern. The Bills are 3-0 through three games for the third straight year and the fifth time in nine seasons under Allen.
Allen’s two rushing touchdowns also pushed his career total from scrimmage to 87, tying Hall of Famers Thurman Thomas and Andre Reed for the franchise record.
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