The Chargers open as huge underdogs to the Bills despite playing at home after their embarrassing TNF loss to the Raiders.
The Chargers are already in full reset mode with three weeks of the season remaining. Giff Smith has taken over head coaching responsibilities from Brandon Staley who was fired after the most embarrassing loss in Chargers’ history on TNF last week. The rest of the season is therefore a self scouting exercise to understand which parts of the roster are salvageable and which need to be replaced. The first opportunity to set up the future of this team starts in Week 16 where they face a team that has been through a very similar reset back in 2017. The Buffalo Bills hired both head coach Sean McDermott and General Manager Brandon Beane in 2017 and haven’t looked back since, building a sustainable model for consistent success under their leadership. Maybe the Bolts can be lucky enough to find a similarly fruitful partnership to set up the future to build a team around Justin Herbert like they did with Josh Allen.
This season however, the Bills have been inconsistent to say the least. Sean McDermott’s side have already lost double of the amount of regular games they did last season and whilst a lot of this can be put down to losing key players to season ending injuries, their roster talent is not the same caliber as in recent years. However, good coaching shines through when it is needed, Sean McDermott’s bold call to replace Ken Dorsey with Joe Brady has paid off big time as they have looked like a team no one wants to face in the playoffs since. They have beaten the Kansas City Chiefs and dominated the Dallas Cowboys in consecutive weeks and are looking dangerous at the right time of year.
The DraftKings Sportsbook oddsmakers have opened their books with the Bolts as huge 14-point underdogs. A two score spread is always a damning statement that the two teams are not playing to a similar level and that is most certainly true on this occasion. Easton Stick is starting his second straight game after the Bolts lost Justin Herbert to a fractured finger that required surgery. Stick struggled to get anything going against the Raiders until they pulled their starters, maybe the confidence he gained in the second half could help push him up to the level required to take on a Buffalo defense that ranks 4th in points allowed per game.
What do you think, Bolts From the Blue? What bets would you place on this game?