Bills 24, Chargers 16: Five Giveaways, Still 3-0

September 27, 2026 - Orchard Park - The first snap from scrimmage came out of James Cook's hands. The last meaningful Buffalo play was Cook from 3 yards. In between, Josh Allen threw two picks, lost a fumble, and still ran for two scores. The Buffalo Bills beat the Los Angeles Chargers 24-16 at Highmark Stadium.

Buffalo is 3-0. Los Angeles is 0-3, its worst start since 2017, per ESPN. Allen called it smoke detectors. Joe Brady said five turnovers are on him. The defense did not break. Since 2010, teams that give it away five or more times allow 32.7 points a game on average, ESPN noted. This was the fourth time in two decades such a team won and allowed 16 or fewer.

Allen completed 16 of 26 for 204 yards, no passing touchdowns, two interceptions, and a lost fumble. He ran 8 times for 22 and two 1-yard scores. Cook ran 24 times for 154 and the closer, plus the opening fumble. Justin Herbert went 20 of 34 for 226 yards, one touchdown, and one pick.

10-0 on Buffalo's own mistakes

Cook fumbled the first play. Herbert shoveled 1 yard to Keaton Mitchell on third-and-1. Deone Walker busted the backfield and did not finish the tackle. 7-0 Chargers, inside five minutes.

Allen then threw two interceptions in three plays, both to rookie safety Genesis Smith. The first came on a dig to DJ Moore. The second was a post that Moore and Smith bobbled to the ground. Officials ruled it never hit the grass. Cameron Dicker made 31 after the first pick. 10-0. The second pick did not become points.

Tyler Bass made 28. 10-3. Late in the half Allen hit Keon Coleman for 37 to the 1. The sneak tied it 10-10 with 16 seconds left. The Bills say it felt like a dream to be tied after that first half.

Gardner-Johnson at the 1, Rousseau's sixth sack

Dalton Kincaid caught 25, fought for extra, and lost the ball. Los Angeles recovered at its own 17. Dicker later made 21. 13-10 Chargers, 6:12 left in the third.

Allen was sacked to end the third and again to open the fourth. The second punch-out sat at the Buffalo 28. C.J. Gardner-Johnson jumped the seam at the 1 and returned it 41. ESPN had that interception just outside the red zone when Los Angeles could have gone up two scores.

Fourth-and-7 near midfield. Allen flung one to Ty Johnson. Holdings stacked on both sides. Cook gained 26 on three carries to the 1. Allen ran left. 17-13, 7:35 left. The Bills list him as the first Super Bowl-era quarterback with multiple rushing scores in three straight games, tied with Marshawn Lynch at 17th on the career rushing-touchdown list at 85, and tied with Andre Reed and Thurman Thomas at 87 Buffalo scrimmage scores.

Greg Rousseau sacked Herbert for the second time, his sixth sack through three games, past Bruce Smith for the most by a Bill in that span, per the club. Los Angeles turned it over on downs at its 45. Cook from 3. 24-13, 3:13 left. Dicker made 33. 24-16.

Buffalo's defense forced three punts and four field goals. Only two of five Chargers drives after takeaways scored. Tre Harris caught 6 for 76. Mitchell had 8 carries for 52 and the shovel score. Tuli Tuipulotu had 1.5 sacks.

The Chargers controlled the clock and still left with 16. Herbert's incompletion on fourth down at his 45 ended the last push. Dicker made 31, 21, and 33 and missed once. Los Angeles had taken the ball away twice in the first quarter for the third time this season, the club wrote, and still needed a kicker to do most of the scoring.

Coming in, Buffalo had lost 16 straight when it committed five or more turnovers. The last win in that split was 1997 against the Colts, then quarterbacked by Jim Harbaugh, the current Chargers coach. Allen's three turnovers were his most since Week 18 at Miami in 2023. ESPN had him at 82 passing yards after halftime. Cook still ran for 154. Rousseau still got to six sacks in three games.

Brady said the next week required self-reflection. Ten penalties sat next to the five giveaways. Gardner-Johnson still jumped the seam. Allen still sneaked twice. The unbeaten start survived Harbaugh's building.

Buffalo hosts New England on Oct. 4. The Chargers visit Seattle that afternoon.

AthX Engine after five Buffalo turnovers

AthX Engine NFL scoring already has the Week 3 lines in. Smith's two interceptions land at 79.50, the top total in this game because the DB card pays 30 a pick. Gardner-Johnson is 50.50. Rousseau is 50.50. Cook is 42.50. Allen is 28.57 after the picks and the lost fumble. Buffalo's team line is 68.00.

Fantasy points measure the box. Price is what traders will pay for a 3-0 Bills club that needed the defense to erase its own offense. They move together. They are not the same number.

Track Allen, Cook, Rousseau, Herbert, and both clubs on the marketplace.

*Sources: Bills.com, Chargers.com, ESPN recap, ESPN on the five turnovers. AthX Engine Week 3 lines scored from nflverse weekly stats (CC-BY 4.0). Information only; not financial advice.*