On Sunday, the Chargers took care of business against a red-hot Bengals team on the road.
With that being said, here are seven numbers that tell the story of Los Angeles’ 41-22 victory over Cincinnati.
4
Teams that win the turnover battle are likely to come out victorious, which the Chargers did, finishing with four. Los Angeles had two interceptions and two forced fumbles, one of which was the most crucial. The Bengals had an opportunity for a go-ahead score, down just two points after trailing by 24. Instead, Joe Mixon fumbled, Tevaughn Campbell recovered and returned it for a 61-yard touchdown to break Cincinnati’s momentum.
27
Despite losing Joey Bosa early on and Justin Jones soon after, the Chargers had arguably their best performance in the trenches this season. Los Angeles constantly had Joe Burrow under duress, pressuring him 27 times. Brandon Staley perfectly designed twists/stunts, pressure/blitz packages, schemed 1-on-1s, and the players executed. It was a collaborative effort, but Uchenna Nwosu led the pack with seven pressures.
2.8
Not only did the Chargers’ defensive line contribute at getting after Burrow, but it also stepped up in a big way at slowing down Mixon. Clogging and slipping through gaps, Mixon had nowhere to go throughout the afternoon. He was held to 54 yards on 19 carries (2.8 yards per carry), all without Jones and Linval Joseph.
10.2
The common narrative had been that Joe Lombardi’s play-calling was holding Justin Herbert back. In reality, it was a combination of various factors, but one of them was that defenses were properly game-planning for Herbert and limiting his options down the field. On Sunday, Herbert finally unleashed his cannon of an arm. His receivers’ had a height advantage on the Bengals’ defensive backs, which led to him uncorking deep balls to Mike Williams and one to Jalen Guyton for a touchdown. He finished with a 10.2-yard average depth of target — his highest average this season, per Pro Football Focus.
17.3, 5, 33
The Chargers’ special teams had been leaving a lot to be desired this season. However, the unit showed promise in nearly every phase on Sunday. The kick return unit allowed just 17.3 yards per return, all tackles by rookies – Chris Rumph, Amen Ogbongbemiga, and Nick Niemann. The Bengals returned only one punt, but it went for just five yards. Andre Roberts averaged 33 yards per kick return. All around, it was an encouraging development.