In the first two weeks of this NFL season, the Los Angeles Chargers couldn’t get a grip on the flow of things on the field during their losses to the Arizona Cardinals and Las Vegas Raiders. On Sunday against the Buffalo Bills, they managed to control the game, and for a period of time, it looked like they had a real shot at victory despite being sizable underdogs.
Buffalo quarterback Josh Allen, the league’s MVP during the 2024 season and arguably the best signal-caller in football, completed just 16 of 26 passes. The Chargers did a good job of creating pressure on him, sacking him four times and forcing him into two interceptions.
Overall, Buffalo committed five turnovers, to just one for Los Angeles. With that type of positive turnover margin, one would’ve likely expected Los Angeles to win, but instead, it lost by a final score of 24-16.
Not only did it fail to take advantage of a very sloppy game by its opponent, but it is now 0-3 on the season with a slew of very tough opponents coming up. Its fans have seen this movie before — in more than one way.
The Chargers have lost this way before — and no one else has
This isn’t the first time the Chargers have lost a game in which their opponents had so much trouble taking care of the football. In fact, they’re the only NFL team to lose in this exact fashion.
Per Evan Abrams, there have been only three times in league history when a team has won despite committing at least five turnovers and finishing with a turnover margin of at least -4. The Chargers have been on the wrong side of that outcome all three times.
Chargers fans are used to seeing their team find new and innovative ways to lose important games, but losing in this fashion is simply embarrassing.
The last time the squad lost in this fashion was during one of the most infamous losses in not only franchise history but the entire history of the sport. That was in the wild-card round of the 2022-23 playoffs, when the Bolts got out to a 27-0 lead over the Jacksonville Jaguars, only to lose 31-30 on a last-second field goal.
In that game, Jacksonville quarterback Trevor Lawrence threw four interceptions, with all four picks coming in the first half. But L.A.’s offense couldn’t close the deal, while the Jaguars’ offense got going behind a resurgent performance by Lawrence after halftime.
Now the Bolts will have to find a way to deal with the defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks next Sunday on the road. The Seahawks are very comfortable winning the type of ugly game the Chargers were involved in this weekend.
