The Buffalo Bills have a potential focal point for Sunday’s matchup with the Los Angeles Chargers: tight end Dalton Kincaid working into the space created by Buffalo’s formations, motions, and personnel groupings. Locked On Bills host Joe Marino believes the Chargers lack the coverage infrastructure to consistently remove Kincaid from the game plan, even with safety Derwin James capable of matching up at times.
Marino’s case is not simply that Kincaid has started fast. It is that the Bills can force a defense to make difficult choices when quarterback Josh Allen has Kincaid, wide receiver Khalil Shakir, running back James Cook III, and multiple tight ends available in the same offensive structure. If Los Angeles commits James to Kincaid too often, Marino argued, Buffalo can use motion and formation width to create another favorable look.
The Chargers arrive with a thinner tight end room than they expected. Tight ends Charlie Kolar (forearm) and David Njoku (lower leg) are out with injury, leaving Oronde Gadsden II and newly signed Hayden Rucci as the available options at the position. Those absences matter to Buffalo’s plan because Marino expects Los Angeles to have a tougher time sustaining the wide-zone looks central to Mike McDaniel’s offense without its top blocking tight ends.
That could place more pressure on Los Angeles’ interior offensive line, where Marino singled out center Jake Slaughter and guards Cole Strange and Trevor Penning as matchups Buffalo should attack. Bills defensive lineman Deone Walker has supplied impact early in the season, and Marino said Walker’s ability to win inside could become the defense’s clearest route to disrupting quarterback Justin Herbert.
Marino also predicted Buffalo’s first interception of the season and four or more sacks, tying both calls to Herbert’s adjustment to a timing-based system that asks for anticipation throws. He cautioned, however, that an 0-2 Chargers team still has enough talent to change the game if Buffalo turns the ball over or allows its pass defense to repeat its early lapses.
Kincaid remains the clearest offensive test. Marino said he would take the over on Kincaid’s 56.5 receiving-yard projection, calling it a strong play because of the personnel and schematic matchup. The Bills do not need Kincaid to beat James on every snap; they need to keep moving him until the Chargers cannot devote their most versatile defender to him on every critical down.
Buffalo can reach 3-0 by making the advantages on paper show up on the field. Kincaid’s role, Walker’s interior rush, and the crowd-noise challenge for a Chargers offense on its first road trip give the Bills several ways to control the matchup at Highmark Stadium.
Bills News and Notes
– Bills wide receivers DJ Moore (shoulder) and Keon Coleman (ankle) were listed as questionable in the show’s Friday preview. Marino and guest Kyle Trimble discussed Moore as a likely active player whose shoulder could limit his workload, while Coleman remained the less certain availability decision after two missed practices earlier in the week.
– Bills defensive linemen Ed Oliver (hip) and T.J. Sanders (abdomen), along with defensive back Jordan Hancock (hamstring), shape the other major availability questions. The show said Oliver was questionable after a full Friday practice, while Sanders and Hancock were ruled out; Sanders is recovering from an appendectomy, leaving Buffalo’s defensive-line depth under added pressure.
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