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The Bengals late rally was undone by missed kicks and the Chargers final, resulting in a 34-27 loss
The Cincinnati Bengals mounted a tremendous 21-point comeback that allowed them to tie Sunday night's game against the Los Angeles Chargers, but their rally ended in futility. A pair of missed fourth-quarter field goals by kicker Evan McPherson proved costly as the Chargers escaped with a 34-27 win - it effectively ended the Bengals' slim playoff hopes.
The Chargers dominated the first half, led by quarterback Justin Herbert. He tossed two touchdown passes: one to Will Dissly and another to Quentin Johnston—while the Bengals struggled to gain momentum in the game. By halftime, Los Angeles led 24-6, outgaining Cincinnati 272-126.
But the Bengals were not going to be denied, as quarterback Joe Burrow finally found a rhythm in the second half. Touchdown passes to Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins trimmed the Chargers' lead to 27-20, and a fumble by Herbert set up another score for Cincinnati. The Bengals scored 21 unanswered points to tie the game early in the fourth quarter, but McPherson missed a potential go-ahead field goal with less than five minutes left.
Despite several Charger errors, including holding on one play and a missed throw to an open Ladd McConkey, Cincinnati could not capitalize. After another missed attempt by McPherson, Los Angeles quarterback Herbert easily moved the Chargers into field-goal range with two clutch passes to McConkey. Then, in all, J.K. Dobbins sealed the game with an 18-yard touchdown run with 18 seconds left.
The Bengals sink to 4-7 with the loss, and their playoff hopes are left dangling by a strand of twine. For their part, the Chargers nearly imploded but rebounded to improve to 5-6 and keep themselves in the wild-card hunt with seven weeks left in the season. Although competitive, the Bengals will likely need to run the table to stay in play-the tall order.
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