More historic ineptitude from Buffalo Bills defense against Los Angeles Chargers

The Buffalo Bills forced turnovers in abundance during a 5-2 start to the 2017 season, and looked to be a team on the rise as the defense, under first-year defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier, locked down several teams. Buffalo led the league in turnover differential (+14) through Week 8 and sat comfortably in the race for an AFC Wild Card berth.

Fast forward to now, and the Bills once-stout defense has turned into a porous sieve. Buffalo has been outscored 135-55 during its three-game losing streak, falling to the New York Jets (34-21), the New Orleans Saints (47-10), and the Los Angeles Chargers (54-24).

That is the most points allowed by a Buffalo team over a three-game stretch in franchise history, and it is tied for the fourth-most points allowed by any team over a three-game span since the 1970 AFL/NFL merger.

In surrendering 37 points before halftime of Sunday’s debacle vs. the Chargers, the Bills gave up the most points in the first half of a game since the Seattle Seahawks put 42 first-half points on the scoreboard during a 56-17 loss on Oct. 30, 1977.

Last year, the Bills posted a 7-9 record and were outscored by 81 points. In the last three losses alone, Buffalo has been outscored by 80 points.

Staying with the defense, Buffalo’s once-proud defense was torched for 47 or more points in back-to-back games for the first time in franchise history according to Jerry Sullivan of The Buffalo News.

For fans desperate for some form of good news, here it is: When the Chargers punted in the third quarter, it marked the first time in more than 113 minutes of game action that a Buffalo opponent was forced to punt. Going back to the primetime loss to the New York Jets, Buffalo’s last three opponents had gone 22 straight possessions without punting and almost two games worth of clock time.