LA Chargers: Team grades from a dismal coaching effort in Buffalo

Receivers and defensive line

Allen’s record-setting effort last week had Chargers fans thinking he might go on a real tear towards the end of the season. Buffalo was able to hold him up pretty successfully though. White covered Allen for most of the day and the secondary as a whole held him to four receptions, 40 yards, and one touchdown.

No wide receiver went over 50 yards except Tyron Johnson, but that’s somewhat misleading given his Hail Mary reception at the end. Other than that play, he had one reception for eight yards.

While the wideouts underperformed in getting separation, Ekeler and Hunter Henry did really well in this game. Quietly, this might’ve been Henry’s most consistent game of the season from snap to snap. He was always involved and never disappeared for long stretches of time. Ekeler was always finding ways to make guys miss and pick up that extra YAC, per usual.

If the defensive line was just Joey Bosa, the grade would be an A+. Maybe I’d have to go as high as an S rank. Unfortunately, other players on the defensive line exist. This was arguably the best game of Bosa’s career though. I

‘m surprised it came this week against one of the harder to bring down quarterbacks in the league in Josh Allen. Eight tackles, six tackles for loss, three sacks, one pass breakup, one fumble recover, five quarterback hits. Holy crap!

Jerry Tillery struggled big time in this one. The Chargers decided to put him at LEO in the absence of Uchenna Nwosu and Melvin Ingram. Two really undisciplined penalties cost the Chargers in the first half. The former first-round pick has registered just three pressures and four tackles in the last three games. That’s particularly terrible efficiency for 132 snaps.

Other than that, the rest of the defensive line was…fine. Linval Joseph and Justin Jones are still holding their own on the interior. The injection of Damion Square helped a little bit as a rotational piece in this game. The poor run defense effort was more about Tillery’s edge performance and the terrible depth at linebacker rather than the interior.

Receivers: C

Defensive Line: B