What was originally slated for a early Sunday game, the NFL decided to flex in the Chargers game as the Sunday Night Football game. Flexed out was the Jets vs. Colts game which oddly ended up being a descent game, by far the better game was the Chargers vs. Bengals game. Joe Burrow and Justin Herbert had faced off once before since coming into the NFL in the same 2020 NFL draft. The Chargers won that battle in 2021 beating the Bengals 41 to 22. Coming from the same draft class and being in the same conference, everyone knew this was going to be one for the ages.
Chargers won the coin toss and deferred. Chase on the Bengals was slotted for being healthy and was ready to go for Sundays matchup. First possession of the ball for the Bengals, they ate up a lot of game clock but couldn’t find the end zone resulting in a field goal.
Chargers first possession and moving fast, getting Will Dissly a much deserved touchdown. Dissly has started to play a really big role considering he’s more of a blocking tight end more than anything.
The Chargers defense continued its domination with Tuli Tuipulotu coming away from the game with 1.5 sacks for this game, making that seven sacks on the season for this second year second round pick. The Chargers full defense picked up three sacks without pass rushing star Khalil Mack.
Quentin Johnson coming in clutch with another receiving touchdown. Ladd McConkey leading the team with six receptions for 123 yards, he is definitely everything we needed him to be in replacing Keenan Allen this offseason. Justin Herbert with the legs and gas this past Sunday. Clearly that ankle is healthy because we were seeing no hesitation with Herbert going after open looks and taking matters into his own hands with 65 rushing yards on the night. also throwing for two touchdowns and 297 yards Justin was exactly who we needed to be for this game.
Going into the half the score was twenty-four to six in favor of the Chargers. Unable to get much going on the drive coming back from the half, Cameron Dicker is still able to go to work and get us three points giving us a lead of twenty-one. The Bengals slowly started to gain momentum. A long run by Brown then working their way down the field until near the goal line Burrow passing a dart to Chase for a touchdown. Next Chargers possession they couldn’t get anything going and one of the two times in the night that Herbert was sacked.
Before you know it, Burrow hits the deep ball to healthy Higgins for a touchdown to bring the score to 20-27. Besides a beautiful pass out to Ladd McConkey and a descent run by Dobbins, the Chargers lost momentum after a hard hit Justin Herbert fumbled the ball giving the Bengals yet another opportunity. While escaping defenders Burrow twists and turns and finds Chase Brown for a big gain. With 12:21 left in the fourth quarter Joe Burrow laser beams a pass to Chase for a touchdown tying the game 27 all.
The Bengals with some deep ball attempts as well as some crazy flags on the field and a missed field goal, the Chargers take over at the spot of the attempted field goal with seven minutes left in the fourth. The Chargers make an attempt but end up with a three and out. The Bengals make another attempt at a field goal from fifty-one yards out with 1:49 (time) left to go in the game, and miss it yet again to the left. Chargers back with the ball quickly ends in another three and out, leaving the Bengals with 1:26 left in the game. Bengals then try to muster up something but with the aggressive pass rushing from Henley the Chargers are able to get the ball back one last time with :45 seconds left.
The Chargers starting at their own 16-yard-line, start firing off bullets. Herbert to McConkey for twenty-seven yards down to the Chargers forty-three yard line. Herbert, firing under pressure, hits another beautiful deep ball to Ladd McConkey to put the Chargers on the Bengals thirty yard line with :26 second left on the clock. Chargers then go to run the ball in order to get better ball placement for a field goal attempt as well as drain the clock and utilize their final timeout. This play worked much better than they thought. Dobbins breaks some tackles and ankles and runs toward the sideline. With an oncoming defender Dobbins leaps in the air and sticks out the ball towards the pylon, and just gets it in, Chargers score the touchdown sealing the victory and advancing them to 7-3 with an 89 percent chance of making the playoffs. You usually hear tigers saying great, but this past Sunday they lost their stripes and the Chargers and Justin Herbert remain undefeated by the Burrow led Bengals.
Next week the Chargers have one of the most anticipated games of the year. The Harbaugh Bowl. A rematch of the 2012 Superbowl. Brother vs. Brother, top five QB vs. top five QB. This game will be for the ages and know The Ravens are smart not to fly in thunderstorms.