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After enduring a horrendous week of both real and fantasy football, the Buffalo Bills will move on to face the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday afternoon. The Bills will have a new look on offense, with rookie quarterback Nathan Peterman taking over the reins for Tyrod Taylor. Who will have a big game against the Chargers?
RB LeSean McCoy
The Bills’ top running back is averaging 22 combined touches per game this season, and I expect that he’ll have at least that many rushes and receptions combined on Sunday. The Bills will want to keep pressure off of Peterman in his first NFL start, and what better way to do that than to allow Shady to be the show? The Chargers haven’t allowed a 100-yard rusher since LeGarrette Blount in week four, but they have allowed an opposing running back to score double-digit fantasy points in six of their nine games so far. Only the Oakland Raiders and Denver Broncos (twice) did not have a running back hit double-digits. McCoy will have that bounce-back week we hoped for last Sunday against the New Orleans Saints.
WR Zay Jones
I’m going slightly on a limb here and saying that Zay will be the receiver who benefits the most from the quarterback change from Taylor to Peterman. While Kelvin Benjamin is sure to be in your starting lineup, if you have some players on a bye and are looking for a high-ceiling flex play, Jones could be a good pickup. San Diego is only allowing 211 passing yards per game this season, but the rookie seemed poised to break out two weeks ago against the New York Jets before he was injured. He and Peterman appeared to have some solid chemistry in the preseason, and I think that the rookies will look for each other early and often if Jones is able to return to the field. He practiced in full on Wednesday, so that part is a good bet.
TE Charles Clay
Every young quarterback needs a safety valve, and so many tight ends have benefited from playing with a young quarterback. Jason Witten has been great for Dak Prescott, Delanie Walker has been Marcus Mariota’s favorite target, and Charles Clay will be a great weapon for Peterman. Hopefully, the tight end screen makes its way back into the game plan, taking advantage of Clay’s athleticism and the Chargers’ aggressive pass rush.
K Stephen Hauschka
He was great in the early going, but as the offense has stalled out over the last two weeks, his scoring potential has disappeared, as well. With that said, Hauschka is a safe bet to make the kicks he attempts, and with Buffalo looking to run an offense predicated on staying on schedule with a new quarterback, I expect that Hauschka will have some opportunities on Sunday.
Miscellaneous
I’m not going anywhere near Buffalo’s defense until they prove to me that their first seven games were the norm, and the last two were the blip on the radar... Jordan Matthews could be a sneaky-good play, as well, especially if the Bills go with more spread looks instead of two tight end sets... If you start Nathan Peterman, you either have a terrible quarterback situation, your league plays two QBs, or you have the biggest guliones on the planet.