INGLEWOOD, Calif. — With their season in the balance, the Bengals were on the verge of rallying for the biggest road comeback in team history.
Then the 2024 Bengals appeared, squandering another chance at redemption and victory.
J.K. Dobbins broke through a worn down Bengals defense for 29 yards and a touchdown with 18 seconds remaining to lift the Los Angeles Chargers to a 34-27 win Sunday night at SoFi Stadium.
Evan McPherson missed potential go-ahead field goals of 48 and 51 yards wide left by mere feet. But as has been the case with these Bengals, it was just good enough to lose.
Mike Hilton had a chance to pick off a Justin Herbert pass with over a minute remaining and he had the potential pick-6 sail through his hands for an incompletion.
Herbert was given one final chance with 45 seconds remaining and marched his team 84 yards in just 27 seconds to seal Cincinnati’s fate and drop the Bengals to 4-7 on this miserable campaign.
The first half was a disaster in which the Bengals allowed the Chargers to score on 4-of-5 drives.
Between a defense that couldn’t stop the Chargers on four drives in the first half and an offensive line that couldn’t protect Joe Burrow, the Bengals embarrassed themselves in the first half before their second-half rally fell short.
After being on the field for a second Chargers TD that made it 14-6, Cam Taylor-Britt was benched for the rest of the half for the likes of Josh Newton and DJ Ivey. When DJ Turner injured his right arm at the end of the third quarter, Taylor-Britt returned.
The Chargers scored on four of five first-half possessions and took a 24-6 halftime lead. The Chargers took a 27-6 lead on a 53-yard field goal from Cameron Dicker.
Things got so bad in the first half that after a personal foul on Trey Hendrickson that when the defensive edge came off the field with his helmet off and Zac Taylor tried to calm him, Hendrickson shoved his arm down.
But the game turned drastically with a pair of defensive stops in the third quarter. Joe Burrow hit Ja’Marr Chase on an in-cut on fourth-and-goal from the four for a touchdown with 5:27 left in the third quarter to cut the lead to 27-13. Burrow then hit Tee Higgins on fourth-and-2 for a 42-yard TD strike with 2:53 left in the third.
Following a fumble by Herbert, the Bengals capitalized and scored the game-tying touchdown on a Burrow to Chase touchdown with 12:21 left in the fourth quarter.
The Bengals did not have Sheldon Rankins available due to an illness that appeared on the injury report on Sunday morning.
The Bengals had a golden opportunity on their second drive and had first and goal from the one but self-destructed and had to settle for a field goal and a 3-0 lead.
