The Buffalo Bills (7-3) return to action Sunday afternoon when they welcome the Los Angeles Chargers (3-7) to Bills Stadium for a 1 p.m. Eastern showdown.
For the second straight game, Buffalo’s matchup will feature quarterbacks taken in the top 10 of the NFL Draft, with Josh Allen, the No. 7 pick in the 2018 Draft, squaring off against Justin Herbert, the No. 6 pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.
While the Bills are coming off their bye, Herbert directed the Chargers to a 34-28 win over the New York Jets in Week 11, completing 37 of 49 passes for 366 yards, three touchdowns and zero interceptions.
The first matchup between Allen and Herbert will have a limited national audience, with the game being CBS’ early national broadcast in the Bills’ and Chargers’ primary markets, along with most of the Northeast and pockets around Eugene, OR. and Tucson, AZ.
CBS’ No. 4 broadcasting team of Greg Gumbel and Rich Gannon will be on the call for the Bills/Chargers clash.
The areas that can see the game are highlighted in green (map courtesy of 506sports):
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The early CBS audience is fairly divided between the Tennessee Titans traveling to face the Indianapolis Colts (in red), the Las Vegas Raiders at the Atlanta Falcons (blue), the Miami Dolphins at the New York Jets (yellow), and the Cleveland Browns at the Jacksonville Jaguars (orange).
Sunday’s matchup will be the 40th all-time between the Bills and the Chargers.
The Chargers lead the all-time series 25-12-2, winning four of the last five and seven of the last ten meetings since 2000.
The last time these teams met was Allen’s rookie season, when Philip Rivers and the Chargers came to Western New York and defeated the Bills 31-20 on Sept. 16, 2018 in a game best known for cornerback Vontae Davis suddenly retiring at halftime.
Allen completed 18 of 33 passes for 245 yards with the first passing touchdown of his young career to go with two interceptions. The day belonged to Rivers, who carved up Buffalo’s offense and completed 23 of 27 passes for 256 yards and three first-half TDs as the Chargers raced out to a 28-6 halftime lead.
Buffalo last beat the Chargers on Oct. 19, 2008 as Trent Edwards completed 25 of 30 passes for 261 yards and a TD, Marshawn Lynch rushed 19 times for 70 yards with a score, and Lee Evans hauled in eight passes for 89 yards with a TD in a 23-14 victory.