The Chargers escaped a Bengals comeback and won in a Sunday night thriller.
The Chargers began firing on all cylinders. Evan McPherson made a field goal to get the Bengals off to a 3-0 lead. Los Angeles responded by marching down the field, with Will Dissly catching the touchdown pass. Evan McPherson hit another to make it a one-point game at the beginning of the second quarter. This started the barrage of scoring from the Chargers offense. Quentin Johnston caught a big touchdown, JK Dobbins punched one in on fourth down, and Cameron Dicker made a field goal to end the half 24-6.
Things began to change in the second half. Dicker started scoring to make it a 27-6 lead, which sparked something in the Bengals. Joe Burrow hit Ja’Marr Chase for a touchdown, then bombed one deep to Tee Higgins to make it a one-score game. Ja’Marr got his second of the game to make it 27-27. The Chargers blew another titanic lead. The Chargers get into this situation in any other season and fall apart. However, these Chargers – these Jim Harbaugh Chargers – stayed strong. Yes, Evan McPherson missed two field goals in the fourth quarter that would’ve each taken the lead. However, the fact is that Justin Herbert led the Bolts’ offense down the field in the final minute and delivered. He hit Ladd McConkey for two big pass plays to get into field goal range. As they began to run down the clock, JK Dobbins took matters into his own hands and delivered the kill shot: a 28-yard touchdown run with 18 seconds remaining.
First things first, the Chargers may have ended the Bengals’ season. Their playoff odds now fall below 25%, meaning they’ll need to win out to see the postseason. Change will be coming to Cincinnati. Whether that change will be good or bad, only time will tell. Of course, Tee Higgins’ time with the Bengals is seemingly ending as he will reach Free Agency this offseason and has reportedly been seeking a team where he can be a top option. This will be a storyline to watch for many reasons. Fans will wait to see where Higgins ends up, how Cincy replaces him, and how they try not to take another step back without the standout WR.
However, winners write the history books, and that’s exactly what Jim Harbaugh will do with this win. Chargers fans all over the world held their breaths the second Ja’Marr Chase caught the touchdown to make it 27-13 (maybe even before then). Blowing a lead with 27 points is all too familiar to everyone involved with the Chargers. Jim Harbaugh and these Chargers broke a cycle that has been repeating for years. These Chargers will not crumble in the big moments, even in situations where they should. The case can even be made that the Bolts passed the torch to the Bengals. These Bengals are too talented to be 4-7, with their path looking at Cancun. However, Harbaugh has his mind set on his brother as Jim and the Chargers will face John and the Ravens in Week 12.
Justin Herbert’s performance cannot go without being mentioned. Herbert was playing the best ball of his career in the first half. In this Greg Roman offense, Justin Herbert’s ceiling is not far off from Josh Allen. He was whipping every pass right to his receivers with surgical numbers. This was also the start of Herbert being viewed as a mobile QB. He was the Chargers’ leading rusher with 65 yards on four attempts.
There was a turning point in his game Sunday Night. That moment seemed to be after a big Herbert run, Greg Roman drew up an inside run where the QB was stuffed and banged up. It didn’t seem like he wanted to use his legs after that, whether it was intentional or not. That said, it was apparent in his game. He and the offense were stagnant in the second half. He couldn’t hit his receivers downfield, hindering the run game as well. He set a career record for most incompletions in a row (seven), unacceptable for a guy up 21. If it weren’t for his two great balls to McConkey, this game would be talked about in a completely different right. While those were nothing short of amazing from Herbert, there are surely improvements to be made. At his peak, Justin Herbert is a top-three QB in the NFL. But now, there are still small kinks to be worked out. Of course, there is no doubt that the QB whisperer in Jim Harbaugh won’t get Herbert playing at that level within the next year.
Chris Collinsworth and Mike Tirico summed it up perfectly on the broadcast. When things got down to crunch time and the Chargers offense was on the field, everybody knew who could make the plays. Herbert could go to Keenan Allen Mike Williams, Austin Ekeler, or even Gerald Everett. Now, every single one of those guys is gone. The question was of who Herbert was going to make a connection with within the Jim Harbaugh era. That answer was made apparent all game. Quentin Johnston had 48 receiving yards, marking yet another big game for the sophomore in a bounce-back season. Will Dissly (80 YDS) continued his career year, although his long-term future with the team is under question. Although, it was rookie wideout Ladd McConkey who continued to prove that he would be Justin Herbert’s go-to guy moving forward. Like the guys in the booth said, Herbert trusted Ladd to make those two big gains with time expiring. The rookie is no stranger to big moments, having played for the elite Georgia Bulldogs in college. Ladd and Herbert showed Sunday why they will be one of the league’s most lethal duos in the future, and it is already coming to fruition.
As mentioned, the Chargers are now gearing up for an even bigger test against the Ravens. This isn’t how they intended to walk out from the Bengals matchup, but everyone in that locker room knows that a win is a win. Especially a win like that, practically re-writing history will give all of the longtime Chargers in that room a different feeling heading into Week 12. The next month will be hard, but even if they only win one of the next four games, they are still in a great position to make the playoffs. With the Bengals (almost) out of the Wild Card picture, their competition slims down by the week. The biggest matchups to watch moving forward are the Har-Bowl, the Chiefs rematch, and the Broncos game right before Christmas that could decide playoff seeding. In a nutshell, the Chargers’ schedule is no cakewalk, but this win has put them in a great position to power through and escape the regular season with 11 or 12 wins.