Derwin James Insists Chargers Can Still Reach Super Bowl After Falling to 0-3

The Los Angeles Chargers dropped to 0-3 on the season after a 24-16 loss to the Buffalo Bills on Sunday, but All-Pro safety Derwin James is not ready to concede the year is lost.

Asked whether the team could still reach the Super Bowl, James responded with unmistakable confidence.

“Hell yeah! I mean, 14-3 man. I feel like we can go still man and we’re getting better every game,” James said. “… we gotta keep attacking. That’s all we can do.”

James’ claim that the defense is improving each week has some support in the numbers. Against Buffalo, the Chargers’ defense turned in its best performance of the season, forcing five turnovers, including two interceptions of quarterback Josh Allen.

Even so, James said the unit left plays on the field.

“We should have had six today. That’s how we look at it as,” James said. “We don’t look at it as finger-pointing.”

The Chargers’ problems Sunday were concentrated on the other side of the ball. The offense stalled in the second half and repeatedly failed to finish drives in the red zone. In the third quarter, Los Angeles reached the one-yard line but committed two false-start penalties that pushed the team back and forced a field goal instead of a touchdown.

Quarterback Justin Herbert has struggled out of the gate this season, throwing four interceptions in his first three games. With 5:14 remaining against Buffalo, Herbert threw his only pick of the day, and the Bills capitalized immediately.

Allen hit DJ Moore for a 16-yard gain that put Buffalo three yards from the end zone, and running back James Cook punched the ball in on the next play to put the Bills up by 11. The Chargers answered with a late field goal that did nothing to change the outcome, and Buffalo held on for the 24-16 win.

At 0-3 with a difficult six-game stretch ahead, the Chargers’ postseason hopes look increasingly remote. James, for his part, isn’t backing off his optimism.