Kickoff is 1pm EST in Buffalo
By Chuck Pollock, Senior Sports Writer
So much for the Bills’ pot-hole-plagued season-opening slate.
When the NFL released its 2026 schedule last May, a look at the first five games — at Houston, home with Detroit, the L.A. Chargers and Patriots and at the L.A. Rams — seemed to portend a slow start for new head coach Joe Brady..
Two games in, Buffalo has opened unscathed, having beaten the Texans 36-31 and the Lions 41-31.
And now, in Game 3, the Bills are favored by a touchdown over the winless Chargers come Sunday afternoon at Highmark Stadium (1 o’clock, Fox-TV, Bills Radio Network).
Indeed, over the season’s first two games, Houston, Detroit and the Chargers have gone a combined 1-5 as both the Texans and Chargers are winless.
To be sure, L.A. coach Jim Harbaugh has never before started an NFL-coaching season 0-2 and heading into Game 3, Harbaugh’s job, in Year No. 7, has been rumored to be at risk.
In the first two games this season, Buffalo quarterback Josh Allen has scored nine of the Bills’ 10 touchdowns (5 passing, 4 rushing) as his team is averaging just over 38 points per game. Of concern, though, is that Brady’s defense, under the guidance of coordinator Jim Leonhard, is surrendering a gaudy 31 points per game, a flaw that needs immediate attention.
Ten players were on Buffalo’s injury report this week, three of whom — defensive tackle Ed Oliver (hip), wide receiver Keon Coleman (ankle) and defensive lineman T.J. Sanders (illness/appendectomy) — missed practices. Limited were cornerback Jordan Hancock (hamstring) and guard Ar’mai Reed-Adams (elbow).
It was worse for the Chargers who listed 14 players on their injury report, nearly a third of their roster.
Guard Kayode Awosika (fibula), safety James Derwin (finger), tight end Charlie Kolar (forearm), defensive back Elijah Molden (hamstring), guard/tackle Trey Pipkens (knee), wide receiver Brenen Thompson (quad) and defensive lineman Dalvin Tomlinson (hamstring) all missed practime time. Awosika, Tomlinson and Kolar will not play against Buffalo.
Also, tackle Rashawn Slater (groin), cornerback Rodney Shelley (hamstring), guard Cole Strange (pectoral) and outside linebacker Tuli Tuipulotu (hamstring) were limited at practice.
“WE’VE GOT a lot to improve on,” Brady admitted during the week, specifically citing the defense. “We knew two games wasn’t going to define our season one way or the other. Whether we’re 2-0 or 0-2 or 1-1, the growth that we need to see from Week 2 to Week 3 … there has to be a lot of growth from it.”
He added, “We were really intentional in the meetings (albeit) a small sample size …but it’s still stuff on tape. That’s like ‘The house isn’t catching on fire, but smoke is showing.’
“We’ve got to make sure we’re doing a good job of cleaning some of the things up. There’s a lot on all sides of the ball that we’ve obviously been able to overcome and find ways to get the victory. But if we want to continue that and find ways to get better, we can’t continue to do that (sloppy) stuff.”
Brady, aware that 78 percent of teams that started at 2-0, in the past five seasons, have made the playoffs.
“I think our guys don’t care about how it looks and sometimes, when we say ‘you find ways to win.’ it has a negative connotation (but) that doesn’t mean they didn’t earn it.”
He added, “We’re all still learning each other. Early in the season, you’re trying to figure your team out, kind of what they’re about and how they respond to things. They just care about finding ways to get one more point and that’s evident.
“Taking out the schematics, I’m more pleased with the mindset that the guys have had embracing the competitive standpoint. Now it’s like, OK, 2-0 means not a damn thing right now. What do we do to go 1-0 this week and we’ll worry about the rest as we go?”
Weather: Temperatures in the upper 50s and low 60s. Chance of rain 10%. Winds 11 mph.
Pollock’s pick: Bills 30, Chargers 24
(Chuck Pollock, a Wellsville Sun and Olean Star senior sports columnist, can be reached at cpollock@wnynet.net.)
