The Good, Bad and Ugly: Bengals vs Chargers Recap

The Los Angeles Chargers came into Cincinnati and defeated the Cincinnati Bengals by a score of 41-22. The Chargers improved to 7-5 and demoted the Bengals to that same record of 7-5.

The Chargers are only one game behind the AFC West-leading Kansas City Chiefs. The Bengals are also only one game behind the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC North.

These two similar teams had moments of success and struggle throughout the game. The Chargers scored 24 unanswered points through the middle of the second quarter, but Cincinnati was able to claw back with 22 unanswered points of their own through the middle of the third quarter. Turnovers plagued the Bengals and gave the momentum right back to the Chargers.

Let's look at the good, the bad, and the ugly between both teams in this conference matchup.

The Good

The Los Angeles offense was the main good part of this matchup behind Justin Herbert, who completed 26 of 35 passes for 317 yards and three touchdowns. Austin Ekeler added a touchdown on the ground. The receiving core made some big plays to advance drives and score behind Mike William's 100+ receiving yards effort and Keenan Allen's two-touchdown day.

This good rating could've gone to the Bengals offense that looked to come to life in the middle of the second quarter, but once their momentum was stopped with some turnovers, they were never able to get their mojo back. Joe Burrow was playing through a dislocated finger which explained some of the hesitancy from the young quarterback.

The Bad

The turnovers for the Bengals were close to making "the ugly" designation because they were so demoralizing for an offense that was back in the game. Two turnovers come to mind before all the others, including the interception of the hands of Ja'Marr Chase and the fumble by Joe Mixon in the middle of the third quarter.

Chase looked to have a touchdown on a beautiful pass by Burrow right in the hands of Chase, but Chase bobbled the catch, which deflected right into the hands of the defender and erased what would have been a touchdown.

After scoring 22 unanswered points, the Bengals were driving, looking to take the lead. Joe Mixon was hit in the backfield and fumbled the ball, which led to a scoop and score by the Chargers' defense. This was a big momentum change that led to Cincinnati's inability to score for the rest of the game.

The Ugly

The Bengals' defense, as a whole, was the ugliest part of this game. Through missed assignments, costly penalties, and inability to stop the passing game, the Bengals looked outmatched.

The most frustrating part about the Bengals' defense is that they have been relatively solid all season and have played better against much better teams than the Los Angeles Chargers. All defenses have flukey games, but that doesn't erase the fact that the defense couldn't keep the Bengals in this game.