National Football League

Bills-Chargers Preview

Published Dec. 9, 2011 3:42 p.m. ET

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The San Diego Chargers aren't in an enviable spot in the AFC West race, but at least their lengthy losing streak is over.

The Buffalo Bills' slide in the AFC East continues.

San Diego looks to snap its longest home losing streak in eight years Sunday when the Bills go for their first victory in six weeks.

The Chargers (5-7) are tied with Kansas City and two games back of Denver and Oakland in the West following Monday's 38-14 victory over Jacksonville, but getting back into the win column following six straight defeats was the priority.

It was San Diego's longest losing streak since an 0-9 slide to finish 2001.

"It's been a rough six weeks,'' Philip Rivers said after completing 22 of 28 passes for 294 yards and three touchdowns. "I haven't put a complete game together, but I don't care about the numbers. I just want to win.''

With the Chargers finally getting healthy, the team has to like its chances of stringing together consecutive wins and avoiding its first 0-4 skid at home since Nov. 4-Dec. 30, 2001.

San Diego's last three-game home losing streak was Nov. 23-Dec. 14, 2003.

Wide receiver Malcom Floyd will play his first home game since Oct. 2 after catching four passes for a season-high 108 yards and a 52-yard TD on Monday. He had missed four games due to a hip injury, and his return marked just the fifth time this season he played in the same game as receiver Vincent Jackson and Pro Bowl tight end Antonio Gates.

That does not bode well for the Bills (5-7), who have just one interception in the last four games after picking off 15 in the first eight weeks.

Buffalo has just two sacks during its five-game skid, and it could be difficult to add to that total after the Chargers did not surrender one Monday for just the second time this season.

San Diego is 15-3 since 2009 when Rivers is sacked one time or fewer. It's 12-14 if he goes down twice or more.

The return of starting guards Louis Vasquez and Tyronne Green following two-game absences gave Rivers plenty of time in the pocket, and the result was Rivers' highest-rated performance of the season at 146.1.

It was also San Diego's highest-scoring game in a win since a 41-10 victory over Arizona on Oct. 3, 2010.

"That's the type of chemistry coming into this season we knew we had,'' Gates said. "We stayed on course despite what we've been through these last six weeks."

While the Chargers try to keep their postseason hopes alive with a fifth consecutive home win in this matchup, the Bills' playoff chances are fading fast.

Buffalo sits just one game in front of last-place Miami after being tied with New England atop the East with its 5-2 start.

"It's hard to realize where we are right now and where we were when we started the season with all the hope,'' quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick said Monday, a day after a 23-17 loss to Tennessee. "It's unfortunate that we find ourselves in this spot.''

Rallying down the stretch could be tricky as the Bills are struggling on both sides of the ball and injuries are mounting.

"It's very tough to deal with,'' said coach Chan Gailey, whose team last dropped six in a row during an 0-8 skid to begin his tenure in 2010. "We're one game better than we were last year, but it doesn't feel anywhere near like that."

The Bills are averaging 13.4 points during the skid - 16.7 fewer than in the opening seven weeks - while the defense has forced just two turnovers in the last four weeks.

"Yeah, there's a lot of drastic differences,'' linebacker Nick Barnett said. "We've got a lot of different guys in this locker room right now due to a lot of injuries. We're going through a lot of different things."

Already without leading rusher Fred Jackson (leg), tackle Kyle Williams (foot) and center Eric Wood (knee) for the rest of the season, the Bills could also be missing tight end Scott Chandler (ankle) and safety George Wilson (neck) on Sunday when they try to avoid their first six-game road skid since Sept. 18-Dec. 4, 2005.

Rivers went 22 of 29 for 208 yards and two scores the last time these teams met, but the Chargers lost 23-14 at Buffalo on Oct. 19, 2008.

San Diego, winner of 14 of the last 19 in the series, has not dropped a home game to the Bills since Dec. 6, 1981.