5 Good Stats: Buffalo Bills at San Diego Chargers

Philip Rivers - 24/33, 240 pass yards, 3 TDs
Last season, El Capitan had a QB rating over 100 in 9 out of the 16 games he played in. This season, he's done it just 3 times (including in each of the last 2 games). Based off what box score and what little of the game I saw, the difference in the Bills game for Rivers was that he had time to check down to Ryan Mathews when the coverage was there downfield.

Ryan Mathews - 20 carries, 114 rush yards, 6 catches, 34 rec yards
Mathews looks to be healthy again and, just like the first month and a half of the season, is putting up about 150 total yards per game with a few big plays (like a 37 yard run) mixed in. This is exactly what San Diego had in mind when they moved up in the first round to pick him in the 2010 NFL Draft.

Antonio Gates - 7 catches, 68 yards, 2 TDs
What Rivers has done a very good job of, since Gates has gotten fully healthy again, is using the checkdown passes to RBs, passes over the middle to his TEs and the deep ball in a rotation to keep the defense from keying on any one receiver or part of the field. After the Jaguars game, Buffalo decided to focus on taking away the big plays downfield and Rivers took what was left. The result was a big game for Gates and Jackson, the two best options over the middle of the field.

Eric Weddle - 3 tackles, 1 defended pass, 1 interception, 1 carry, 10 rush yards
Remember the Rivers fumble for a Buffalo TD that I mentioned in the post earlier this morning? After turning a 16 point lead into a 6 point lead, the Bills had all the momentum. They kicked to the Chargers, who quickly went 3-and-out. Just when it looked like the Bills were going to take control of the game, Eric Weddle (who was in to block) called an audible on a punt and had the ball snapped right to him.

In what could've been a truly disastrous situation, Weddle ran for 10 yards and got the first down. The drive ended with Rivers throwing his second TD of the day to Antonio Gates, and the next time the Bills had the ball Steve Gregory got the interception and ran it back for a touchdown. That's a swing in momentum that probably blows up in San Diego's face if this is an October game. Good job by Weddle to realize what month it is.

I'd also like to point out that Eric Weddle now has 7 interceptions. That's a number that Ed Reed has hit in only 5 of his 10 seasons. If Eric can grab two more picks in the Chargers' last three games, he'll have tied Reed's career high for interceptions in a season. So much for not being worth that big contract.

Steve Gregory - 7 tackles, 1 defended pass, 1 interception, 1 def TD
There's something to be said for Steve Gregory. When he's on the field, the team seems to create turnovers in the passing game. When it's Bob Sanders or Paul Oliver or any other Safety that seems to be better than Gregory on paper, those turnover numbers drop.