2020 Long Island EFL Week#5 Buffalo Bills (2-2) vs Los Angeles Chargers (3-1)

[Long island EFL]

CHARGERS TAKE AIM AT THE AFC WITH WIN OVER BUFFALO!

 

September 22, 2020. Los Angeles, California. WEEK#5: THE LIEFL-COUNTDOWN: What a tremendous game scheduled between the Long Island Electric Football League #12 Ranked Buffalo Bills (2-2) (77-77 All-Time), against the #13 Ranked Los Angeles Chargers (3-1) (76-70 All-Time). The Chargers moved up a slot in the LIEFL-All-Time Rankings, and they are ranked #8th in Slawson's LIEFL-Power Rankings in this 2020 season. The All-Time Rankings and up-to-date records will be tabulated after the season in the All-Time Records section of the league, just before our Super Bowl Game. The Chargers have played almost flawless football. They opened up the 2020 season at Cincinnati, and lost to the Bengals 20-14 in overtime. That was a shocker! Then they went on to win three straight games, which is where Coach Eddie the "GOAT" Viggs has the Chargers right now, at the top of the AFC West Division in a battle for a division title with the Denver Broncos! Los Angeles beat Kansas City 20-14, in overtime, Carolina 21-14, and Tampa Bay at Tampa Bay 20-14, in overtime! They are on fire right now! Los Angeles won't have it easy. They may need to win one more game on the road to make the playoffs this season, but this highly anticipated game in Buffalo is critical! It is a rematch of last year's controversial Divisional Championship Game. The game clock in that game had 11 seconds left with no time out's remaining and the argument was over the final set up for Tomlinson to get one last run,  but the clock ran out.  Viggs accused Billy O'C of taking his time. Coach Viggs felt that he should have had one more opportunity to return the football, but Buffalo walked away a 49-48 winner, with Buffalo eventually losing to the Miami Dolphins in the AFC championship game 31-21! This game should be a thriller down to the last second!  If the Chargers win this game, the momentum may lean their way. There's one more issue for the Chargers and that is the Denver Broncos, who are battling for the division title and their first playoff spot since the 1992 season when they lost to Cleveland 28-17 in the Divisional Championship Game. The Broncos are hot! And while we are at it, we cannot ignore running back LaDainian Tomlinson for the Chargers. He has rushed 30 times for 394 yards, with six touchdowns, one of them a 58-yarder! Tomlinson has totaled 887 yards with seven touchdowns this season and he currently rank's #4 in the AFC in all-purpose yards.   Not much needs to be said about Coach Billy OC's Buffalo Bills. To say the least, they've had an intense season, and it's certainly not because the Buffalo Bills have gotten any worse as a team, it's because the league has gotten better, considering the Bills were LIEFL-Super Bowl Champions in 2017. The Bills have synergy! No team ever dominated the playoffs like Buffalo did in the LIEFL in 2017! The Bills play hard and they can light up the scoreboard quick! Buffalo won a big game on the road last week at Las Vegas, getting back that game behind they lost because of their loss to the Rams. The Bills beat the Jets to open a season 14-7, then they lost Miami 17-14, then they lost a very difficult home game against the defending Super Bowl Champion Los Angeles Rams 16-10, in overtime.    Last week the Bills came from behind and beat the Raiders on their home turf 17-14, but the Chargers are no Raiders. Coach Viggs said, "This Buffalo team is a darn good football team that we are playing against today and both of these teams will have our hands full. To us, this is a playoff game. Really, the key is to go after OJ and slow him down." Coach Billy O'C said, "The Chargers are an amazing team. To stop LT is almost impossible, but the Chargers are also an all-around great team, not just their running game, but they have Winslow and Alsworth at receiver, and a line that is a real challenge to beat! Viggs has them playing on all cylinders as a Super Bowl Contender. We haven't lost a step in Buffalo, we just have one of the toughest schedule's in the league. We have to play better than our best football today in order to hitch this team into overtime. That might be the only chance we get."    Buffalo's All-Pro running back, OJ Simpson, has played great this 2020 season. Simpson has carried the ball 25 times for 302 yards, with five touchdowns, not to mention his 415 yards special teams, and he has totaled 717 yards this season with six touchdowns on 32 carries. The Bills have also yet to use receiver Jay Brown full time. Brown will be the future for Buffalo. The one guarantee is, this is going to be some game. Long Island Sports Hall of Fame Inductee and LIEFL-Countdown Analyst, Andrew Slawson of Slawson's corner said, "We couldn't have a better electric football matchup this week in these two teams, and this might even be the game of the week when all is said and done. Both of these teams are just going to go all out and may the best team win! This is a very important game to both teams because of their position in their respectful divisions. Buffalo cannot afford a loss here today because the Jets have a favorable schedule hosting Miami this weekend. A loss might mean that Buffalo gets knocked out of the playoff picture. Imagine, the division is so good that this great Buffalo team gets knocked out of the playoff picture? That is what I mean when I say there are almost 32-fiercely competitive teams in this league. Even the 0-4 teams will challenge, but the league continues it's evolution of improvement! The NFC is stacked with studs and the AFC is evolving! I love it! Both of these coaches are exceptional and it's going to be a war on the board!"   THE PLAY-BY-PLAY Buffalo Bills (2-2) vs Los Angeles Chargers (3-1).   Ten people showed up to watch this showdown! Who says Long Island isn't a football community? We may not be the best, but we are competitive and will battle to the finish!

The opening kick-off was exciting!  There are always a few game day jitters before we click that button to buzz the game in. This game has particularly jittery feelings as Coach Eddie Viggs and Coach Billy OC shook hands. Coach O'C said to Viggs, "Are you ready for this rematch?" Coach Viggs said, "I'm always ready, but the outcome might be different this time Billy O'C" . Then Coach Viggs complimented Coach Billy O'C on the beautiful job he did with Buffalo's uniforms. The Bills are noticeably different looking with the Red Buffalo on the helmet, going old school. One of the league favorites is the Los Angeles Chargers and their uniforms, going back to the yellow pants with the bolt down the side and the white helmets.   As it gets colder out in New York, it brings all of us closer to electric football because there is less to do at home than the traveling some of us do in the summertime, and it's a huge commitment to bring eight guys together when they're scheduled to play. Since we all live pretty close to each other it eases the burden of having to find other people who might be on the fence about their commitment to our league. Coach Levi Vick, who is the newest coach in the league has been outstanding in terms of his commitment to his teams, the league, his dues, and his attitude. He's the right mix for our league.   Before the game Simpson and Tomlinson went face to face. The field was cleaned and prepared and the running players dipped in water to ensure that they have no lint stuck to the bottom as is the ritual. Both teams and coaches have been able to move past the controversy of last season and they shook hands on it.   The Chargers opened up with a beautiful electrifying 77-yard kick return by All-Pro running back and AFC Offensive Player of the Year last year, LaDainian Tomlinson, who ran the ball to the Buffalo 23-yard line! On first down, Tomlinson ran for a 20-yard first down again to the 4-yard-line as the Chargers offensive line ran right through Buffalo. Coach Viggs wasn't playing around! Tomlinson looked sharp with 12:14 left to go in the half as coach Billy OC switched things around for Buffalo moving Bruce Smith from the nose position to the right side and Marcel Dareus took over at nose tackle. It only took a few plays, but Tomlinson busted through the Buffalo defensive line for the first touchdown of the game to make the score 7-0, Chargers, with 11:22 remaining in the half!   On the Bills kick-return, Bills All-Pro running back OJ Simpson was not going to be outdone. Simpson returned the ball-72 yards to the Los Angeles 28-yard line on a beautiful run with 9:52 left to go in the half.   When Los Angeles lines up on defense that lethal combination of All-Pro's Ernie Ladd and Earl Faison and Russ Washington, are brutal in the middle as they shove Simpson to the ground at the 33-yard line! These two teams went head-to-head with some great match-ups! Coach Billy O'C switched the line around until he had the right adjustments as the Bills got stopped again and pushed back to the 42-yard line with 20 yards to go for the first down. Buffalo is forced to pass, and man do these Chargers look outstanding today! On third down the Chargers defense comes up tremendous, huge! They stopped Buffalo on third down and the Bills are forced to settle for a 43-yard field goal, making the score 7-3, Chargers in the lead with 4:50 left to go in the half!   We think Coach Viggs has revenge on his mind and Coach Billy O'C commented during the game telling coach Viggs, "great coverage"!   Buffalo started putting out on defense late in the half, dragging LaDanian Tomlinson back for a 6-yard loss with second down coming up. On second down rookie Ray Brown, caught Tomlinson in the backfield for another 5-yard loss, bringing the ball back to the Chargers own 33-yard line!   Los Angeles was forced to pass as Buffalo tried to save themselves from being embarrassed with the clock running down ending the first half! To begin the second half, on third down, Los Angeles quarterback Philip Rivers threw a dart to tight end Kellen Winslow ran the ball with blazing speed down-field with an open hole, taking it 58 yards into the end zone on an electrifying play! This one lite up the crowd! The Chargers score made the score 14-3 Los Angeles, with 14:15 left in the game! A dejected Billy O'C and the Buffalo Bills watched on in disbelief as the game appeared to be getting away from Buffalo. What a play! Sometimes we think these little plastic figures are real with the way they play, almost as though they know how big the game is, and almost like they remember the loss of the 2019 Divisional Championship Game! Regardless, the Chargers are on blazing!   There is no quit in Billy OC or his Bills! On the ensuing kick-return, OJ Simpson ran the ball back 43-yards. Maybe was time to watch Ray Brown get involved as a kick returner so that Simpson can focus on the running game!     But whatever the case may be Coach Viggs is the master of preparation, schooling Billy O'C in this game for sure!   On first down for Buffalo, Simpson exploded from the right side of the field running a 57-yard scorcher downfield to make the score 14-10, with 10:54 left in the game! What a play by Buffalo as the Bills answer the Chargers, just like that, they are back in the game! Tomlinson had a nice kick return for 43-yards as Ray Brown made his third tackle of the game, making himself very useful on defense! How about this one, on first down Tomlinson steamrolled a 57 yard run into the end-zone on the very next play for the touchdown! He won't be outdone by Simpson today! WOW! That amazing run gave the Chargers a big lead, 21-10, with 7:56 left to go in a thriller!   The Bills made a mess of their kick return as Ray Brown had a shot to run into an open field, but he was turned around by his own lineman at the 35-yard line to stop the play. The Buffalo Bills looked a long way down field with 6:10 left to go in the game. Buffalo Coach Billy O'C did not expect the Chargers to put up 21 points against the rough Buffalo defense, but the Chargers have dominated today!   Buffalo fought hard as Simpson ran for 20-yards on first down, bringing the ball to the Los Angeles 45-yard line with 4:43 left to go in the game, and the clock ticking fast. Simpson kept moving forward collecting another first down of 11 yards, as the Bills took the ball to the 32-yard-line. The problem for Buffalo is they were behind by 11 points, so a touchdown was not going to tie the score, and they were running out of time against a fierce defense in Los Angeles. One play later, on a beautiful run by Simpson, he scampered into the end-zone on a 32-yard run to make the score 21-17, with 28 seconds remaining in a brutal match-up! The Chargers will see the ball one more time!   And on a tremendous run back for Los Angeles, LaDanian Tomlinson ran back a scorching 61-yarder as he was tackled by Buffalo linebacker, Shane Conlin as the Bills watched the clock run out of time, losing to the Los Angeles Chargers 21-17, as they get revenge on the Buffalo Bills!   Coach Billy O'C said, "That was a tremendous game. The Chargers are a great team they remind me of the Detroit Lions with Dexter Bussey. Those two teams have a lot in common. Coach Viggs said, "That was a great game! I think we proved today we can play against anybody in this league, and this team might be one of the hardest working teams in the league because OJ is almost impossible to stop, but we slowed him down enough to take the edge off of a great team!  Simpson played great, and once he gets hot that's it, but we showed them a different Chargers team today. We dominated I feel!"   The Los Angeles Chargers advance their record to (4-1), and they remain in first place as they face Las Vegas next week in Nevada! Buffalo found their way back to the doghouse at (2-3), as they head to Denver to find out if they can get to the next level against a brutal Broncos offense. This one is going to be a nail-biter!   Big numbers on the day for LaDainian Tomlinson who had four kick returns for 221 yards with a 77 yarder! Tomlinson had an additional five rushing carries for 81 yards and two touchdowns, with a 57-yard touchdown run, totaling a spectacular 302 yards in the game for Tomlinson! For Buffalo, OJ Simpson carried the ball seven times for 120 rushing-yards with two touchdowns, one of them a 57-yard touchdown run, but Simpson ended with 235 total yards on 9 carries, with two touchdowns in the game! Great game!

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