WildCard Weekend has already gotten off to an unbelievable start and there are still two games left. The first being the Chargers head to Cincinnati to face Andy Dalton and the Bengals. Despite making the playoffs twice before in Dalton’s career, the Bengals have not won a playoff game since 1992.
The Chargers have not made the playoffs the past three seasons, but were able to sneak in with an overtime victory in week 17 against the Kansas City Chiefs. The Chargers have really benefitted from the improved play by quarterback Phillip Rivers, who had his best year so far in his career. San Diego has won four straight, but the Bengals have not lost at home this season. They have one of the stingiest defenses and they feed off their home crowd.
This is the biggest game of Andy Dalton’s career. He has failed to beat Houston twice in the playoffs and many wonder if he is a franchise quarterback. If he can get a win here, he would likely solidify his job and head coach Marvin Lewis’ job for the future. He has one of the most talented and athletic receivers in A.J. Green, but has never thrown a touchdown in the postseason.
The Chargers have a very balanced offense making them a tougher team to defend. With the outstanding year rookie Keenan Allen has had, Rivers has a viable deep threat as well as his trusted target, tight end Antonio Gates. To learn more about what has helped San Diego make it back to the playoffs, check out my interview with San Diego Chargers reporter Annie Heilbrunn.
Phillip Rivers will need to continue his strong play today. The Bengals defense have sacked opposing quarterbacks 24 times at home and held them to a 60.6 completion percentage. These two teams met in the regular season with the Bengals defeating San Diego in San Diego. Chargers head coach Mike McCoy said his team “owed the Bengals” a loss; just a little bulletin board material for the home team. Chargers vs. Bengals- who you takin?
