Desperate Times for Jim Harbaugh, 4 Other Things to Know About Chargers vs. Bills

Jim Harbaugh’s club hits the road for the first time in 2026, and hopes to fare better than they did the first two weeks of the season in their own building.

Sep 20, 2026; Inglewood, California, USA; Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Malcolm Koonce (51) hits Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert (10) as he throws during the second half at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

After two weeks of play, the Los Angeles Chargers were the only winless team in the AFC West. Jim Harbaugh’s club dropped consecutive home games to the Arizona Cardinals and Las Vegas Raiders, respectively, by identical 26-14. Both of those teams are led by first-time NFL head coaches, who took over clubs that finished 3-14 in 2025.

This week, the Bolts take on the 2-0 Buffalo Bills, the team with the longest-active playoff appearance streak in the league. Under new head coach Joe Brady, the team has put 36 and 41 points on the board in conquests of the Houston Texans and Detroit Lions, respectively.

Of course, Joe Brady’s club has also allowed exactly 31 points in each of those victories. Could this be an opportunity for the Chargers’ offense to get untracked?

Chargers vs. Bills History

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The Chargers still own a sizeable lead in the all-time standings (25-14-2) in this longtime series that began way back in the 1960 in the American Football League. That includes three postseason meetings between the clubs, two of those wins by Buffalo in the 1964 and ‘65 AFL title games.

And as of late, it has been the Bills who have had the upper hand in this setting. The teams’ last meeting came on a Saturday night in 2023 at SoFi Stadium, with Buffalo managing a 24-22 win. As for the Chargers’ last appearance at Orchard Park, the Bolts came up short, 27-17, in 2020.

Bills’ QB Josh Allen Off to an Impressive Start

Josh Allen vs Lions Week 2 2026 (317 yds, 5 tds pic.twitter.com/gT8AwGkBOt

— Football Showouts (@FBShowouts) September 21, 2026

There are numerous reasons that the Chargers are off to their first 0-2 start since 2023. While two-time Pro Bowl quarterback Justin Herbert has taken his share of heat, there’s lots of blame to go around. Still, Harbaugh’s team has more turnovers (5) than touchdowns (4), and Herbert has three of those miscues.

It’s hard to do much better than Bills’ quarterback Josh Allen has in his first two games this season. That four miscue meltdown in the playoff loss to the Broncos has been answered with a 66.7 completion percentage, 582 passing yards and five scores, 92 yards rushing and four touchdowns, and zero turnovers.

Chargers’ RB Omarion Hampton Bears Watching

Tre Harris with the forced fumble on Omarion Hampton pic.twitter.com/c4BsStcAhO

— Chargers Country (@ChargersCountry) September 13, 2026

The 22nd overall pick in the 2025 NFL draft looked like an ideal addition for the Bolts. However, running back Omarion Hampton missed eight regular-season contests in his rookie campaign. In two games this season, he’s totaled 158 yards from scrimmage and scores two TDs but has lost a pair of fumbles.

It’s hard to ignore what outside linebacker Greg Rousseau has done in his first two games under new defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard. Buffalo has given up plenty of yards and points, but the 2021 first-round pick has totaled seven tackles, four sacks, three forced fumbles and a total of nine QB traps.