Plays that defined 2020: Week 12—Los Angeles Chargers at Buffalo Bills

What if someone told you they had the audacity to miss a Buffalo Bills game? What if you could show them one play, and one play only, to recap the whole thing? What play would you choose? Welcome to Plays that defined 2020...

Week 12: Los Angeles Chargers at Buffalo Bills

After the crushing, last-second defeat the Bills suffered at the hands of the Arizona Cardinals, Buffalo had a week to regroup and decide how to deal with it. Would they collapse—or would they rally? Interestingly enough they chose “both.” The Bills took an 11-point lead into the half and extended it by another touchdown early in the third quarter. Then promptly did just about everything in their power to hand the game to Los Angeles.

Dawson Knox touchdown (Q1, 12:31)

The Bills actually got off to a nice start, pulling ahead by 18 points early in the third. This touchdown throw to Dawson Knox kicked it off. And wow that block by Zack Moss was fun! I did ponder what touchdown to use and ultimately went with this one. Josh Allen and the passing game didn’t do the heavy lifting in this game, only throwing for 157 yards (And this catch was harder than it needed to be.) The Bills looked like they should have ran away with this game all day, but made things harder than they needed to be.

Singletary long run (Q2, 11:20)

The Bills had a heck of a ground attack, averaging 5.73 yards per carry. Devin Singletary had a couple long runs, including this one. The gain of 21 helped set up a touchdown pass from Cole Beasley to Gabriel Davis. The 172 yards on the ground were only five shy of the passing game (Beasley’s 20-yard pass plus Allen’s 157 yards).

Josh Allen unsportsmanlike conduct (Q3, 9:08)

Right after extending their lead to three scores, Buffalo decided that they were all in on trying to give the game away to the Chargers. The Bills had 12 penalties called in all. Eight were in the second half, starting with this one. For a full recap, here you go.

Botched snap (Q4, 9:55)

In addition to the undisciplined play that led to eight penalties, the Bills turned the ball over three times—all in the fourth quarter. This was joined by a fumble from Devin Singletary and an interception. The Bills were practically tripping over themselves trying to help Los Angeles out.

Tre’Davious White interception (Q4, 5:23)

Well, being fair it was mostly the offense that started to fall apart. While the defense did have a few penalties credited to them, they locked things down when the offense’s wheels came off. Only one of the Bills’ turnovers led to a score, which was a field goal. The other two were a three-and-out and a two-play drive that ended with Tre’Davious White reading this play like a play sheet caught in a Western NY breeze.

The Chargers, down by ten, would get the ball back with 3:30 left to go. The Bills’ defense made the Chargers use all of that time in a single drive. That resulted in a goal-line stand and zero points.

It’s time to vote for the play that defined the game. Remember, it’s the play that best tells the overall story of this contest, not necessarily a favorite play or best highlight.

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