Chargers’ valiant effort as spoilers is ruined by Bills’ field goal in waning seconds

Chargers quarterback Easton Stick is pressured by Bills defensive tackle Poona Ford, center, and defensive end Leonard Floyd during the Chargers’ 24-22 loss Saturday at SoFi Stadium. (Ashley Landis / Associated Press)

The Chargers went from being red-faced to doing an about-face Saturday night and making life for the Buffalo Bills very uncomfortable before falling 24-22 at SoFi Stadium.

They were coming off a 63-21 loss at Las Vegas, a defeat that proved to be the final game for Brandon Staley as head coach and Tom Telesco as general manager. Both were fired the morning after the loss.

So how the Chargers responded against the Bills would be an early story line.

And their response? They took a 10-0 lead less than two minutes into the second quarter, lost the lead by halftime but hung around to push Buffalo to the brink.

The Bills won on a 29-yard field goal by Tyler Bass with 28 seconds left.

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Buffalo (9-6) entered needing to win for playoff purposes; the Chargers (5-10) are playing for nothing more than pride at this point.

The loss, coming in the debut of interim head coach Giff Smith, was their sixth in seven games.

The Chargers, who were 12 1/2-point underdogs, had taken a 22-21 lead with 5:26 to go on Cameron Dicker’s fifth field goal of the night, a 53-yarder.

Down 14-10 at the half, the Chargers pulled to within 14-13 on a 40-yard field goal by Dicker midway through the third quarter.

The score was set up by Alohi Gilman’s first interception of the season. The safety made up some ground and stepped in front of Stefon Diggs to pick off a pass Josh Allen hung in the middle of the field.

Chargers defensive tackle Nick Williams (95) celebrates after recovering a fumble against the Buffalo Bills. (Ryan Sun / Associated Press)

The Chargers’ offense moved deep into Buffalo territory and appeared to have a first-and-goal situation at the four-yard line on a 13-yard run by wide…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/chargers-valiant-effort-spoilers-ruined-041621554.html

Author : LA Times

Publish date : 2023-12-24 04:16:21

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