Chargers show grit in Prime Time win.
When Joe Burrow threw a third-straight second half touchdown for the Cincinnati Bengals, everyone in SoFi Stadium knew what was coming.
Los Angeles Chargers fans have seen this all before.
Justin Herbert looks electric. The defense is causing havoc. A cushty 21-lead is built up in a brilliant first half.
Then – seemingly at once – everything stops working.
Herbert cannot complete a pass, missing wide open targets. Burrow turns into Harry Houdini, escaping wannabe-tacklers with an unnerving ease.
The once 27-6 lead is now tied at 27-27 in the fourth quarter.
The statistics appearing on the broadcast make matters worse. The Chargers have lost 10-straight games in which the winning team has won by three points or fewer.
That streak is good for the fourth-longest in NFL history, by any team.
Chargers fight back in fourth quarter
But wait. This is a different Chargers team. The team which, for a long time now, would have capitulated in the final minutes is no more.
Instead, Jim Harbaugh’s side rise to the occasion. The defense forces two long field-goal attempts – both of which were missed.
And then with two minutes left on the clock, Herbert stepped up when the team needed him most.
Back-to-back completions to the talented rookie Ladd McConkey moved the Bolts into field-goal range.
Offseason signing J.K. Dobbins did the rest, scoring a 29-yard rushing touchdown with just 18 seconds left on the clock.
A few more telling contributions like that and Dobbins will be in the mix for the NFL’s Comeback Player of the Year award.
It is now four wins on the bounce for the Chargers. The questions from the naysayers asking if the Bolts can beat a playoff-calibre team have been answered – despite Cincinnati’s 4-7 record.
What looked like another classic Chargers second-half crumble was turned on its head.
Tougher tests – perhaps – lie ahead, with the Baltimore Ravens, Atlanta Falcons and Kansas City Chiefs next up for Herbert and co.
Even so, the NFL’s boffins now say the Chargers have a 91% chance of reaching the playoffs in 2024.
I asked the question last week, and I will do so again. Who’s got it better than the Chargers? Not many!
