The Los Angeles Chargers, of course, need to be worried about Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills offense heading into their Week 3 matchup.
The Bills have had the hottest offense in the league through two weeks, and right now, it doesn't appear as though there's a better quarterback in the NFL than Allen. Their secondary, especially, has struggled under new defensive coordinator Chris O'Leary. If they're not able to make the necessary adjustments in Week 3 to limit the Bills' pass catchers and run game, they could very well be staring down the barrel of an 0-3 start.
It's still early in the season, but that type of record with the slate of opponents they have ahead of them could end the Chargers' playoff hopes before they even truly get going.
And yet Allen isn't necessarily the biggest concern for Los Angeles heading into this matchup.
The Bills defense has also been staunch through their first two matchups, and given the mistakes and miscues we've seen from the Los Angeles offense so far, keeping up with the Bills may primarily come down to their ability to field a viable offensive attack against that unit.
The Chargers need to overcome the Bills' defensive pressure (both in the pass and run game) if they want to stand a shot in Week 3
Last season, the Bills were ultimately held back from a Super Bowl bid by their deficiencies on the defensive side of the ball. They finished the regular season with the least total yards allowed in the passing game and fifth-fewest net yards per passing attempt, but their defensive line didn't match that production. Through 17 weeks, they were the NFL's fifth-worst rushing defense, and they produced just 36 sacks over the course of the season.
They've turned things around this season, though, even without a key cog along their defensive interior in Ed Oliver. They limited Jahmyr Gibbs to just 52 yards on 16 carries in Week 2 as they bullied the Detroit Lions' offensive line, and they've amassed seven sacks through the first two weeks of this season after moving veteran defender Gregory Rousseau to the edge. The addition of Jim Leonhard, who served as the Denver Broncos' defensive backs coach and passing game coordinator last season, seems to have paid dividends already.
Oliver is also questionable for the matchup against the Chargers, which means they could be getting another key piece back in time for this Week 3 game.
There's room to argue that Los Angeles' offensive inefficiencies so far have simply been a result of their slow adjustment to Mike McDaniel's scheme. Regardless, though, this Bills defense is much better than either the Arizona Cardinals' or Las Vegas Raiders'. A slow climb in efficiency won't cut it if the Chargers are going to come away with a win.
They're going to need their offensive line to truly show up if they're going to carve out any space against this physical Buffalo interior, and establishing Hampton early in the game as a true explosive-play threat will be vital to opening up a wider berth of McDaniel's playbook over the course of the matchup. They're going to need Herbert to read the defense and react with more confidence against opposing pressure, especially if Buffalo is able to match the production off the edge we saw in Weeks 1 and 2. And most importantly, they're going to need their pass catchers outside of Ladd McConkey to be active against a Bills secondary that has struggled through the first two weeks of this season.
Allen is, again, a major concern. He's the type of quarterback that can take his team onto his shoulders at any given moment. But if the Chargers are going to stand any chance to make this matchup competitive, they're going to need to have a true answer for this Bills defense—especially in the trenches.
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