LA Chargers: Comparing Tyrod Taylor’s 2017 Bills to the 2020 Chargers
By Jason Reed
Final thoughts on the LA Chargers vs. 2017 Buffalo Bills:
The LA Chargers took advantage in two of the three areas that we broke down, which seemingly is an indication that it is a better team than the 2017 Bills. And realistically, this team is much better, which is why I am worried about the team not reaching its ceiling with Taylor.
Sure, Taylor led a less-talented Bills team to the playoffs three years ago, but just because the Chargers are better on paper overall does not mean anything. Taylor is still a quarterback that has not had a tangible starting job in three years and we cannot expect him to be the best version of himself.
Plus, the one area that the Chargers did lose, the offensive line, is the most important aspect of this equation. Taylor’s interception rate is so low because he has been part of a run-first offensive with exceptional pass-blocking his entire career.
When pressure gets to the pocket the interceptions will start to rise. And while there was a lot that was Philip Rivers’ fault last season, there were still some that were caused by pressure. We haven’t seen Tyrod behind a potentially bad offensive line for an extended period of time.
The hope is that the offensive line can play to the best of its ability, but as we should know by now in football, things rarely go exactly how a team wants them to go.
And let’s keep in mind that the 2020 LA Chargers have a much tougher road than the 2017 Bills did. Sure, there is now an extra playoff spot, but the Chargers have a tougher schedule.
The Chiefs and Patriots games level out for these two teams but the Broncos are a likely playoff team that the Chargers have to play twice, the other two teams in the AFC East were bad in 2017.
Seven of the Bills’ nine wins were against teams with six or fewer wins in 2017.
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I would argue that the Chargers only have five games against teams who win six or fewer games in 2020: two against the Raiders, the Bengals, the Panthers and the Jaguars.