5 winners and 6 losers from Bengals’ crushing loss to Chargers

It was a tale of two halves for the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday Night Football. They went into the locker room at halftime down 24-6, and it looked like their playoff hopes were going down the drain.

Then, like the switch was just turned on, a different team took the field in the second half. The defense allowed just three points, and the offense was able to tie the game at 27 early in the fourth quarter.

Sadly, the Bengals came undone at the end again, this time falling 34-27.

Here are a few winners and losers from the Bengals’ Week 11 game against the Chargers in LA.

Winners

Ja’Marr Chase

Chase finished the game with seven receptions for 75 yards and scored two touchdowns on Sunday night. His ability to get open and Burrow’s ability to find him down field make them one of the league’s best quarterback-wide receiver duo.

Unfortunately it was too little, too late.

Tee Higgins

Higgins missed the last three games with a quad injury, but he showed the league why he’s still going to be one of the top free-agency targets heading into the 2025 season. He finished the game with nine catches for 148 yards, but his standout play was a 42-yard touchdown reception late in the third quarter to bring the Bengals within one score.

It was nice to see him on the field again.

Joe Burrow

The first half wasn’t anything to write home about for either the offense or the defense, but Burrow and the offense came alive in the second half. Burrow found Chase and Higgins for touchdowns in the third quarter and was able to tie the game with another Chase touchdown early in the fourth quarter.

In the second half, Burrow showed exactly why he belongs on top of the league’s MVP race.

He finished the game with 28 completions for 356 yards and three touchdowns.

The Bengals’ second-half defense

I’m not sure what Lou Anarumo said to his defense in the locker room at halftime, but they came out in the second half and looked like a completely different unit. After they allowed 24 points in the first half, they only allowed a single field goal deep into the fourth quarter, which allowed Burrow and the offense to claw their way back into the game.

Unfortunately, they did allow a JK Dobbins touchdown late in the fourth quarter, but their second-half performance was worlds better than they were in the first half.

A big part of this was Cam Taylor-Britt being benched by Lou Anarumo (more on that later) and was replaced by Josh Newton. CTB did end up coming back in the game to replace DJ Turner, who left the game with a shoulder injury, but Newton stayed on the field as one of the two outside corners and played pretty well.

He had one of the biggest defensive plays of the night, breaking up a third-down pass and forcing a punt to give the offense a chance to win the game.

Depending on Turner’s injury status, Newton could be seeing a lot more time soon.

Chase Brown

Brown didn’t get into the end zone on Sunday night, but he proved he has what it takes to carry the load. He ran the ball 22 times for 86 yards and added five receptions for 57 more. He showed he has what it takes to be the Bengals’ lead back going forward.

Losers

Evan McPherson

The kicking game just hasn’t been the same this season. Evan McPherson missed two field goals he would typically make, one from 48 yards and one from 51 in the fourth quarter that would have given the Bengals a lead with less than two minutes left in the game.

The Bengals defense wasn’t able to stop the Chargers, and JK Dobbins broke the tie with less than 20 seconds left in the game.

He is now only six of 12 from 40 or more yards.

The Bengals’ first-half defense

The Bengals defense looked completely flat in the first half. Herbert was able to sit in the pocket and pick apart the defense. The Chargers scored 17 unanswered points in the second quarter, and it looked like the defense was going to hold the offense back once again.

Bengals fans

Hopes were so high heading into the season, and despite the slow start and the 4-6 record, there still was hope at the halfway point of the season. I say “was” because, though the Bengals aren’t mathematically eliminated from the playoffs, they likely need to win out to play beyond Week 18.

This was the death blow to the hope some Bengals fans were holding on to.

Cam Taylor-Britt

Many hoped CTB would take the next step in his career in 2024 and become a shutdown corner for the Bengals, but that hasn’t been the case. Taylor-Britt was benched on Sunday night in favor of rookie Josh Newton after struggling to cover Chargers receivers down the field. Not having a pass rush hurts the secondary, but Taylor-Britt has absolutely regressed this season.

He only later came back in the game due to a shoulder injury to DJ Turner.

The offensive line

Burrow has been hit more than any other quarterback in the NFL since Week 5 of the 2024 season, and Sunday against the Chargers was no different. Burrow was forced to throw early or off-target passes because he was pressured, was sacked three times, and was hit over and over again.

They were without Orlando Brown Jr. again, but the entire line struggled to keep Burrow clean on Sunday. Even when Burrow was able to find someone open down the field, it was often while he was running for his life.

Zac Taylor

The goodwill from two deep postseason runs, and a Super Bowl appearance is quickly running thin with Bengals fans. Outside of the ‘21 and ‘22 seasons, the Bengals haven’t gotten the job done. There have been injury issues in the past, but the team’s 4-7 record heading into the bye week is on him.

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Who were your winners and losers?

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