Mike Rodak, ESPN Staff Writer 10y

Bills falter when forced to be comeback kids

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- The Buffalo Bills were one of the NFL's surprises of the first two weeks, riding a stingy defense and a ball-control offense to a 2-0 record and first place in the AFC East.

That formula for success took a hit Sunday when the San Diego Chargers broke open an early lead over Buffalo and didn't look back. Suddenly forced to play from behind, EJ Manuel and the offense couldn't respond as the Bills lost 22-10.

Leading for all but 4½ minutes of the first two games, this was a Bills team that minimized its mistakes and relied on its running game, defense and special teams to win. That Manuel had just 48 pass attempts through Week 2, the second-fewest in the league, helped cover up deficiencies in the passing game.

Those issues were forced to the surface on Sunday as Buffalo was unable to rally from a 10-point halftime deficit. Manuel finished 23-of-39 for 238 yards but could lead only one touchdown drive.

It was hardly all on Manuel. The offensive line broke down as the game wore on and the running game, outside of a 17-yard run by Fred Jackson, was stagnant. Dynamic rookie Sammy Watkins, who had just two receptions, admitted that he "didn't finish" a route on one of Manuel's late-game incompletions.

"I thought [Manuel] made some plays today; obviously, with his feet he was able to extend some things," Bills coach Doug Marrone said. "We need everyone to make plays. We've got to protect, we've got to make the catches, we've got to sit in zone, instead of keeping running. There are a lot of things that we can learn from this game."

It was the Buffalo defense that struggled early. Malcom Floyd weaved his way past a teammate's pick for a 49-yard gain on San Diego's second play from scrimmage, leading to a 3-yard Eddie Royal touchdown catch. The Chargers then controlled the clock for nearly 10 minutes in the second quarter, adding two field goals before widening their lead to 20-3 with another Royal touchdown in the third quarter.

"They got a couple of big plays on us, but it was just ourselves making mistakes," Bills linebacker Preston Brown said. "It wasn't anything that they did scheme-wise, it was just bad communication, and they were able to get the big play down the field."

It could've been worse for Buffalo. San Diego failed to score on two red zone trips in the second quarter, squandering opportunities to bust the game wide open.

After the Chargers took a 20-3 lead in the third quarter, the Bills shifted into pass-first mode, dinking and dunking down the field on an 11-play, 67-yard drive. The strategy worked, with the drive ending on Jackson's 11-yard catch-and-run for a touchdown -- but that was the last hurrah for the Bills' offense.

An incompletion to Robert Woods and a sack ended the Bills' first drive of the fourth quarter. Manuel pushed past midfield on his next drive but couldn't connect with Sammy Watkins on fourth-and-3, endinf that series. Manuel was sacked to end his third possession of the quarter and later sealed the Chargers' victory with an intentional grounding penalty in his own end zone for a safety.

Marrone was asked after the game if his offense was built to play from behind.

"The definition of 'behind' is an interesting thing. ... [If] you get down three scores, I think that gets tough when they're rushing three and dropping eight or they're coming at you and mixing things up pretty good," Marrone said. "[But] do we have the players to play from behind? Absolutely."

Whatever the case, it was exactly the situation the Bills needed to avoid. The Bills had the right equation for success in their first two games, but San Diego exposed one of Buffalo's weaknesses Sunday.

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