Chargers Survive Bengals Second Half Comeback to Win on Sunday Night
Despite a spirited effort late by the Cincinnati Bengals and quarterback Joe Burrow, the Chargers escape with a crucial primetime win in an offensive shootout Sunday night in Sofi.
Austin Gage | Contributing Sports Writer
Despite a spirited effort late by the Cincinnati Bengals and quarterback Joe Burrow, the Chargers escape with a crucial primetime win in an offensive shootout Sunday night in Sofi.
It was a tale of two halves Sunday night for the Chargers, who narrowly righted the ship at the very end to deliver an exciting victory in front of the 70,000 fans in attendance.
Los Angeles, who entered the nationally televised matchup against Cincinnati in the thick of the AFC playoff picture, used a dominating first half to build a noteworthy lead that would save them from a near-implosion in the second half.
After an early field goal by the Bengals and kicker Evan McPherson, who would play a massive role as one of the determining factors of the game’s eventual result later in the game, the Chargers produced four straight scoring drives on their final four possessions of the half.
Beginning with the first scoring drive that culminated late in the first quarter directly after the Cincinnati field goal, Los Angeles made it known early that their hot offense would continue to fire on all cylinders. For an offense that has scored at least 26 points in each of the last four games, more of the same would be the pattern in Inglewood in the first half.
Ignited by a 20-yard scramble by quarterback Justin Herbert on second down, the Chargers seamlessly moved down the field thanks to a pair of big completions through the air. First, Herbert found rookie standout wide receiver Ladd McConkey for 20 yards after rolling out of the pocket, and then the former found trusty tight end target Will Dissly down the right seam off of play action for a 29-yard touchdown. A 7-3 Los Angeles lead was built early and the offense would show no signs of stalling throughout the first two quarters of the game. Dissly, who has emerged as a trusted target recently for Herbert as of the past few weeks, finished the game with four catches for 80 yards and the touchdown catch.
The Bengals, not wanting to succumb to an early deficit on the road, staged a productive drive following the Dissly touchdown. Thanks to a fourth-down conversion from Burrow to star wide receiver Tee Higgins, a receiver whose contract situation is known league-wide and who will be a free agent after the season, Cincinnati penetrated inside the Los Angeles ten-yard line. Fortunately for the Bolts, a Burrow misfire on third down allowed them to hold the Bengals to a field goal and hold on to a 7-6 lead early in the second quarter.
As a symbol of how the passing game has evolved for Los Angeles as the season has progressed, the very first play of the ensuing offensive drive saw Herbert link up with wide receiver Quentin Johnston for 22 yards. After another big play in the air to Dissly once again followed, Herbert turned his eyes to Johnston for the second time on the drive. Staring at a 2nd and 7 from the Bengals’ 26-yard line, the 6’ 4” receiver flashed open on the left side of the field in the endzone. Herbert was able to find him off of play action and hit the receiver in the hands for the 26-yard score. Despite a relatively inefficient day through the air thanks to more incompletions than normal from his quarterback, Johnston caught two balls for 48 yards and the touchdown.
A third-down sack by linebacker Tuli Tuipulotu ruined any chances of an immediate response by Cincinnati and forced the Bengals to punt the football back to the red-hot Bolt offense. Tuipulotu, who has starred alongside a stacked Chargers defensive line this season, contributed 1.5 sacks on the night and brought his season total up to seven in 10 games. A stout defense and a humming offense created a perfect recipe for Los Angeles as they would outscore the Bengals 17-3 in the second quarter.
In some style of deja vu relative to the Chargers’ first scoring drive, Herbert kicked off another drive with a big gain on the ground, this time scrambling up the middle for a massive 30-yard gain. The ankle injury that was limiting the quarterback’s mobility earlier in the season is one of the past as the quarterback would finish with five carries for 65 rushing yards alone. That mark made him Los Angeles’ leading rusher on the night as the usually productive running back J.K. Dobbins struggled to find much room on the ground until a big run late in the game.
After the big run, the run game took over for the Bolts. Combined rushes by Dobbins, Gus Edwards and Hassan Haskins all contributed to a smooth scoring drive, a drive that would be capitalized by a one-yard plunge on fourth and goal by Dobbins to give the home team a 21-6 lead.
After another sack by the Charger defense, Herbert and company led a passing-dominated possession just before halftime that peaked at the Bengal five-yard line. Despite not punching it in for six, Los Angeles settled for three with a short-range Cameron Dicker field goal to extend the lead to 24-6 entering halftime.
However, some of the wheels started to fall off in the second half for the Chargers, as the Bengals and their explosive offense finally began to click. Burrow, Higgins, and fellow star wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase started to showcase their abilities which have made them a dynamic unit for years.
Though Herbert was able to lead Los Angeles on a field goal-scoring drive, one that made the score 27-6, Cincinnati looked like an entirely new team in the second half.
Connecting often with Higgins, Chase and emerging running back Chase Brown, Burrow orchestrated a necessary scoring drive midway through the third quarter to cut the Chargers’ lead to 27-13 as he found the wide receiver Chase on a quick slant for a four-yard touchdown pass. Burrow, who was the top pick in a 2020 NFL Draft that saw Herbert find himself a home with Los Angeles with the sixth pick, continued his excellent play this season as he would go on to throw for 356 yards through the air and three touchdowns with two carries for 28 yards on the ground.
After a very quick possession ended abruptly with a sack of Herbert, things started to become real for the Chargers as they allowed the Bengals to quickly re-enter the game.
Doing their best to limit the now-clicking Bengal offense the Charger defense was able to force a fourth and 2 from their own 42-yard line. Unfortunately for Los Angeles, Burrow stayed poised and relaxed as he connected with a wide-open Higgins for a 42-yard bomb to cut the game to one possession with a healthy 2:53 remaining in the third quarter. Higgins, who has enjoyed an exceptional season like his teammate Chase, would end his day with an amazing nine catches for 148 yards and the big scoring play through the air.
As if things could not go any worse, a Herbert fumble on the first play of the fourth eliminated any hope of matching the new-found life from the Cincinnati side and erased a promising six-play, 46-yard drive that would have at the very least given the Chargers a ten-point lead.
Because of the miscue, the Bengals saw themselves in a very favorable position compared to where they were just ten minutes before in game time. And they would take advantage of the opportunity given in a big way.
Using an eleven-play drive that spanned 70 yards, Cincinnati relied on Brown and Higgins to drive the football up to the Los Angeles 17-yard line. From there, Burrow found Chase for a touchdown and made sure that a score that was once in the Chargers’ favor by 21 points was now tied at 27. Chase, who is coming off an explosive 264-yard game against the Baltimore Ravens, caught seven balls for 75 yards and two touchdowns Sunday night.
With all the momentum in the away team’s favor, the Chargers desperately needed a response on offense. They would not get that. After the game-tying score, the Chargers would produce three straight drives culminating in punts.
The saving grace for Los Angeles? That would be the Bengals’ kicker McPherson, who missed two straight field goal attempts after Chase’s second touchdown catch and made sure that the score would remain at 27 for both teams. Though both attempts were from distance, the first from 48 yards and the second from 51 yards, Cincinnati failed to take the lead after their resilient effort to tie the game.
After a needed stand from the Chargers of Burrow and the high-flying group, Herbert and his unit received the ball at their 16-yard line with 45 seconds remaining in the game. Kickstarted by an important catch down the right sideline by McConkey for 28 yards, the Bolts showed some offensive juice that had been missing the entire second half. Going back to the rookie stud, Herbert found the second-round draft pick once again for 27 yards near the left sideline and brought the drive all the way up to the Bengal 29-yard line. McConkey showcased the route-running and catching skills that made him such a highly-touted prospect coming out of the University of Georgia, and he ended his day with a career-high 123 receiving yards on six catches.
“To have a guy like Ladd, who stepped in so early. We knew how special he was going to be. He came up with some big plays for us today and [I’m] thankful for that guy. He’s definitely made my job a lot easier,” Herbert said.
Not wanting to have the game decided by a field goal attempt, Dobbins punched in the very next play for a 29-yard rushing score with 18 seconds left, giving Los Angeles a 34-27 lead. Breaking off multiple tackling attempts by Cincinnati defenders, Dobbins raced to the endzone for the game-winning score and brought his final statline on the night up to eleven carries for 56 rushing yards and two touchdown rushes.
Surviving a Bengal “Hail Mary” attempt as time expired, the Chargers held on and escaped with a nail-biting 34-27 victory.
“Just respond. Just because we lost the momentum didn’t mean they had it and we were going to get it back. The guys didn’t flinch, didn’t buckle, didn’t even stumble. They just kept right at it and responded,” said head coach Jim Harbaugh.
The win saw Los Angeles push their record to 7-3, and with the Kansas City Chiefs’ loss to the Buffalo Bills earlier in the day, the Bolts saw themselves end Sunday with just a small two-game hole for first place in the division. The win also gave the Chargers their fourth win in a row.
Looking ahead, the Chargers will welcome another AFC North foe on Monday night, as they will take on the Baltimore Ravens on November 25th at Sofi Stadium.
