Chargers Week 12 Surge or Static: Joey Bosa goes berserk in Buffalo

The Chargers 27-17 loss to the Bills was one of the more “rough” games to watch this season. All of the expected mistakes came to be, but it was compounded by some seriously erroneous decisions in the most important of moments.

With Bill Belichick and the Patriots coming to town this week, will the coaching staff be out-coached to a whole new level? Time will tell.

Until then, here are the Chargers’ Surge or Static players from Week 12.

Surge

DE Joey Bosa
Week 12 stats: Eight tackles, six tackles-for-loss, three sacks, one pass deflection, one fumble recovery

Holy sh**. Now THAT is the type of performance I have been waiting to see from Bosa this season.

In a game that was tough to watch from the first whistle until the last, the Big Bear put on a show like the main attraction that he is. The three sacks were a career high and almost doubled his total from the entire season (4.5). His six tackles-for-loss were also incredible, specifically his one-handed takedown of a Bills running back while he was simultaneously getting engaged with a Buffalo offensive lineman.

Luckily for all of us, Bosa was mic’d up during the game, and the eventual audio did not disappoint. Bosa screamed, hollered, and emphatically stated “I am a f***ing BEAST!!!” following one of his big plays on the day, and we all can’t help but agree with him.

It was quite the departure from the usually calm and laid back Bosa we get during our weekly pressers, but a fan base in need of some serious invigoration can’t help but feel energized watching their best player go from zero to 60 the way he did on Sunday,

CB Michael Davis
Week 12 stats: Five tackles, allowed three receptions on five targets for 17 yards, one interception

Davis enjoyed one of his better outings this week against a top-five passing offense in the NFL. He and Chris Harris Jr. combined to allow four receptions on seven targets for 31 yards and Davis also recorded his team-leading second interception of the year.

In a year where Casey Hayward has struggled, and Harris has missed most of the season, Davis has been a pleasant surprise in a year where he’s playing for a new contract. At his current pace, he’s likely one of the team’s highest priorities when it comes to resigning their plethora of free agents.

WR Keenan Allen
Week 12 stats: Four receptions for 40 yards and a touchdown

It wasn’t a spectacular day for Allen against the Bills as Pro Bowl corner Tre’Davious White stuck to him pretty much all day, but he did manage to score his seventh touchdown of the season. This FINALLY broke his streak of three-straight seasons with exactly six touchdown passes and it puts him on pace to possibly set a career-high with 10 scores. His previous record of eight was set back in 2013 when he was a rookie.

Allen’s job doesn’t get much easier when the Patriots come to town as he’ll likely see plenty of matchups against Stephon Gilmore, who just got the better of DeAndre Hopkins this past Sunday.

Static

CB Tevaughn Campbell
Week 12 stats: Three tackles, allowed four receptions on four targets for 81 yards and a touchdown

After playing a key role in the Chargers’ win over the Jets in Week 11, Campbell got stuck replacing Hayward on the outside against one of the NFL’s best passing teams. While he played a role in keeping Stefon Diggs to a minimal outing, rookie wideout Gabriel Davis managed 81 yards and a touchdown catch on a rather nifty trick play from wide receiver Cole Beasley.

Overall, Campbell’s done a decent job and he’s shown he can step up to the plate when needed. The potential within him is something the staff can work with and I think he’ll be with this team for at least another year to backup Chris Harris in the slot.

OT Trey Pipkins
Week 12 stats: Allowed seven pressures and one sack

Another game, another week where all five of the Chargers’ offensive linemen were ranked in the bottom five of Pro Football Focus’ game grades against the Bills.

Pipkin led the group with seven pressures allowed and let up one of the team’s two sacks on Justin Herbert. One can say he was obviously dealt a bad hand since he got the notice he was starting just minutes before due to a sudden illness of starter Bryan Bulaga, but he’s technically played more games/snaps than Bulaga this year, so you can only give him so much of an excuse. He’s been one of the team’s worst lineman this year and he may have been at his worst against the Bills.

Pipkins was selected with the full expectation that he was going to be a developmental project for the Chargers. The most unfortunate thing is that Pipkins has yet to show just about any sign of hidden potential that could convince fans he’s just a certain amount of time away from becoming a legitimate NFL offensive lineman. Is it still quite early in his career? Yes. Did he lose plenty of valuable time in the offseason? Yes. It’s still not wrong to wonder if using a third-round pick to select him was justified at the time.

HC Anthony Lynn/OC Shane Steichen

The lack of game management is inexcusable. The play-calling at the end of the game was even more so.

When the entire Twitter-sphere is set ablaze from the egregious errors made by both of these coaches, you know it’s not just a simple case of bad communication. There seem to be some deep, underlying problems that need to get resolved and there isn’t much time left to flip the script before they’re officially buried underneath the scrutiny.