Bills hand Chiefs their first loss, Steelers atop the AFC North
Mackenzie Salmon breaks down the top storylines from Week 11 in the NFL.
Sports Seriously
The Chargers aren’t “chargering” anymore. They gave it their best shot in Sunday night’s 34-27 win, attempting to stick to their brand made famous under the leadership of Brandon Staley.
No, these Chargers are different. Jim Harbaugh’s team simply laughs in the face of adversity. Armed with a 21-point lead in the second half, it was all but over. Justin Herbert was getting his flowers in front of a primetime audience. Zac Taylor’s hot seat was on fire in Cincinnati.
Then the Chargers of old crept back in.
That 21-point lead quickly became a tied game and that tied game nearly became a three-point deficit, twice.
Instead, Evan McPherson pulled two kicks to the left and J.K. Dobbins eventually lunged into the end zone to give L.A. the lead. However, that Dobbins’ touchdown left the door cracked open for the Bengals. In the end, it was Jesse Minter’s defense that slammed it shut as the Hail Mary attempt from Joe Burrow fell incomplete at the goal line.
That sends the Chargers to 7-3, firmly in the AFC playoff mix. In a way, L.A. exorcised their primetime demons that were the cause of so many blown leads. Rather, it’s the Bengals that have some soul-searching to do. At 4-7, Cincinnati heads into its bye week with dwindling playoff hopes.
While Taylor’s job appears safe for now, the questions instead shift to the team’s core. With at least Tee Higgins likely heading for a new team in the offseason, it’s now a wonder where Cincinnati goes from here. There’s no question the Bengals are a better team than their record.
Regardless, the Chargers made a statement on Sunday night that they aren’t that same soft team anymore. More importantly, the NFL schedule makers delivered a statement of their own, giving fans a big win by flexing this game into primetime and the Jets-Colts showdown out of it.
Herbert and Burrow put on a show. Here’s a look at how the action unfolded:
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After blowing a 21-point lead and taking a seven point lead, the Chargers never make it easy. Despite all of that, they finally found a way to win on Sunday night, escaping with a wild 34-27 win over the Bengals.
Mayhem at SoFi! J.K. Dobbins takes the handoff and scores the go-ahead touchdown on a 29-yard run to put the Chargers up seven. With just 18 seconds left and one timeout, the Bengals will need a miracle.
With just 31 seconds left in regulation, Justin Herbert finds Ladd McConkey for 27 yards to get L.A. into field goal range.
If this game was a person at the bar, you’d be calling for a designated driver. The Bengals can’t take advantage of their good fortune and now the Chargers are given yet another opportunity to drive the field for a win.
L.A. avoids disaster as Justin Herbert nearly tossed a pick-six. He followed it up with a dime on third down, but Joshua Palmer can’t haul it in. The Chargers have to punt with hardly any time coming off the clock. Meanwhile, the L.A. pharmacy’s are raking in all the cash on blood pressure medicine on this November Sunday night.
A Ja’Marr Chase drop on third down forced the Bengals to settle for a Evan McPherson try from 51, but he pulled it left. It’s the kicker’s second miss in as many tries and now the Chargers have the chance to go for the win.
File this one away for later. Ladd McConkey had no one in his zip code on third down, wide open down the sideline. However, Justin Herbert’s throw was too tall for the receiver, forcing L.A. to punt.
Evan McPherson has been money tonight, but not anymore. The normally reliable kicker is wide left from 48, giving the Chargers the ball back at their own 38 with about seven minutes to go.
It’s been all Bengals in the second half, but the Chargers almost halted the momentum for a brief moment. Key word — almost. The interception was negated by a roughing the passer penalty on L.A.’s Otito Ogbonnia, who buried Joe Burrow with all his weight. Cincinnati keeps the ball and continues to march. That’s a back-breaker.
That sound you hear is the media deleting their stories about Zac Taylor being on the hot seat and Justin Herbert’s incredible performance. It’s also the sound of Ja’Marr Chase scoring the game-tying touchdown and the roar coming straight out of Cincinnati. Left for the dead, the Bengals have come alive in the second half to tie the game. They were down 21, but no more. It’s a new ballgame in L.A., as the Chargers can’t avoid their patented collapse.
The first turnover of the game comes courtesy of Justin Herbert, who dazzled in the first half. However, we’re a long way from that first half dominance. The Bengals have taken over this game, forcing a fumble on Herbert to start the fourth quarter. Cincinnati is in complete control with a chance to tie or take the lead, somehow, after a sleepy first 30 minutes.
Following a pass break-up, DJ Turner II landed awkwardly and went straight to the locker room holding his right arm. The cornerback has been replaced by Cam Taylor-Britt after what had been a solid second half from the second-year corner.
You can change the coaching staff. You can change the roster. You can change the city. You cannot change the Chargers. Joe Burrow launches a 42-yard bomb to Tee Higgins for the touchdown, cutting the L.A. lead to seven. Justin Herbert finds himself in a familiar spot now with three minutes to go in the third quarter. He’ll have to save his team from collapse. In the meantime, the Bengals are gaining confidence and doing everything they can to save their season.
A three-score lead is now a two-score lead after Joe Burrow marched the Bengals down the field for a touchdown. It takes 11 plays to go 70 yards in just over five minutes, but Cincinnati has life. Ja’Marr Chase hauled in the score on fourth down, putting some pressure on the Chargers to not take their foot off the gas. These aren’t Brandon Staley’s Chargers, but that ghost of blown leads could still be lurking in the background.
Not much has gone right for the Bengals tonight, but maybe their luck is shifting in the second half. They have kept the Chargers out of the end zone and Tee Higgins is making some big plays on the latest drive. This time he caught a pass deflected off his leg by L.A. linebacker Daiyan Henley.
The Chargers keep on rolling. Cameron Dicker’s kick is good from 53, adding three more to the growing Cincinnati deficit.
Justin Herbert was 10-of-14 for 183 yards and two touchdowns in the first 30 minutes of game action while posting a 153.3 passer rating. He added four carries for 58 yards, making him a dual threat that’s only been stopped by the clock tonight.
The Chargers’ Justin Herbert has been running all over the Cincinnati defense so far tonight, but it shouldn’t come as a surprise to see the 6-foot-6 quarterback on the move. Herbert ran a 4.68-second 40-yard dash at the NFL combine in 2020. After recovering from an ankle injury, Herbert has been off and running a lot more, giving another dimension to the Chargers offense. With four carries for 58 yards in the first half, it’s safe to say the Bengals didn’t get the memo.
The Chargers are in complete control tonight and likely would’ve added another seven points if the clock didn’t have just four seconds left on it. Instead, with the ball at the one-yard line, L.A. settles for three from “Dicker the kicker.”
It was the finishing touch on a dominate half from Herbert and Co., while the Bengals are left searching for answers. To make matter worse for them, the Chargers are set to receive the second half kickoff.
Four drives. Three touchdowns. The Chargers are known for their defense in 2024, but the offense is here to remind the viewers that they shouldn’t be overlooked either. This first half has been a statement from Harbaugh’s club as J.K. Dobbins adds a rushing touchdown to the tally.
Justin Herbert is putting on a show in primetime. He’s 6-for-6 for 123 yards and two touchdowns, with the latest going to Quentin Johnston. The second-year receiver extends his touchdown streak to three as the Chargers extend their lead.
The Bengals found themselves inside the Chargers’ 10-yard line again, but are forced to settle for another field goal from Evan McPherson. He hits from 27 yards this time, leaving the masses to wonder if his next attempt will come from 28. Field goals aren’t going to win this game, but the Chargers defense is standing tall.
Cincinnati converted a fourth down play at the end of the quarter, but the concern could be for Tee Higgins, who took a brutal hit to his back on the final play. L.A. returned a fumble for an apparent touchdown following the Higgins hit, but replay ruled that the receiver was down. The Chargers will hold a four-point lead going into the second quarter.
One play later, Will Dissly finds pay dirt as Justin Herbert fires one up the seam to his tight end. Dissly has really come on as a receiver for the Chargers after being mostly used as a blocker in other stops. L.A. punches back and takes the lead.
Following a catch along the sideline, Ladd McConkey came up holding his shoulder and collarbone area. Geno Stone landed on him with the tackle and the receiver went into the medical tent for evaluation.
After first-and-goal at the L.A. three-yard line, Cincinnati is forced to settle for a field goal from Evan McPherson following a few penalties. He knocks it through from 26 yards out to give his team a 3-0 lead. Jim Harbaugh’s defense, which allows the fewest points per game in the league, comes up with a big stand.
Much like their opponents, the Chargers’ opening drive ends without incident. L.A. came out trying to establish their identity with three straight run plays, but came up empty.
While the Jermaine Burton catch stood after replay, the Bengals couldn’t do anything with it. They are forced to punt after just crossing midfield to the Chargers’ 48-yard line. Justin Herbert and the Chargers will go to work from inside their own 20.
Our first stoppage of the evening comes on a Jermaine Burton catch. Or is it? Well, that’s what the referees will have to determine after Jim Harbaugh tossed his challenge flag. It’s not often we get a red flag before the yellow, but the ketchup colored laundry will either result in a completion for a Cincinnati first down or a incomplete pass that brings up third down.
UPDATE: It resulted in an 8-yard completion for the Bengals.
- Date: Sunday, November 17, 2024
- Start time: 8:20 p.m. ET (5:20 PT)
The Chargers and Bengals game will wrap up Sunday’s action for Week 11 of the 2024 NFL season with “Sunday Night Football” at 8:20 p.m. ET.
For cord cutters looking for a live stream for the matchup, you can turn to Fubo TV. Fubo TV carries NBC, as well as CBS, FOX, NFL Network and the ESPN family of networks, meaning you can catch NFL action through the remainder of the season.
Peacock, NBC’s proprietary streaming service, will also carry the game.
Stream “Sunday Night Football” with a Peacock subcription
Following a dominant win over the Raiders, the Bengals arrived in Baltimore for their Week 10 matchup, hoping for retribution. After a disappointing one-score loss in overtime to the Ravens in Week 5, Cincinnati had a chance to get its hopes for playoff contention back on track with a prime-time win on the road.
Instead, the Bengals repeated history.
Five weeks after quarterback Joe Burrow threw for 392 yards and five touchdowns against the Ravens, he threw for 428 yards and four touchdowns in Baltimore. Wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase had 264 yards and three touchdowns on 11 catches. The Bengals lost, 35-34, as the defense could not stop Baltimore’s fourth-quarter offensive surge.
The Chargers face their first big challenge in a few weeks after three straight matchups with two-win teams. Though the Bengals are another sub-.500 team, their roster still has tons of talent, particularly on the offensive side, and may be better than their record indicates.
Most recently, the Chargers defeated the Titans in Week 10, in which quarterback Justin Herbert continued spreading the ball around to various pass-catchers. He targeted eight different players, and six of Los Angeles’ offensive play-makers caught a pass as Herbert finished 14-of-18 on pass attempts for 164 yards and a touchdown. — Jack McKessy
The two elite quarterbacks are a huge reason why the NFL flexed the Cincinnati Bengals vs. Los Angeles Chargers into primetime on Sunday night.
On Sunday night, the Chargers have an opportunity to make a statement win as they enter a daunting stretch where they face some of the NFL’s premier quarterbacks in Burrow (Week 11), Lamar Jackson (Week 12), Kirk Cousins (Week 13) and Mahomes (Week 14).
“November is the football you remember,” Chargers outside linebacker Khalil Mack said. “Just got to be hitting on all cylinders and keep elevating week by week. —Tyler Dragon
Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter started his coaching career as a defensive intern at Notre Dame in 2006. He spent the next decade working in college football, holding assistant roles at Cincinnati and Indiana State before becoming a defensive coordinator for the Sycamores and at Georgia State.
In 2017, Minter broke into the NFL as an assistant on John Harbaugh’s staff with the Baltimore Ravens. He spent the next four seasons working largely as a defensive backs coach before getting a chance to serve as Vanderbilt’s defensive coordinator in 2021.
After a year at Vanderbilt, Minter got a chance to replace Mike Macdonald as Michigan’s defensive coordinator. Minter worked for two years in tandem with Harbaugh and turned the Wolverines into one of the best defenses in the country. That powered Michigan to a national title win, after which Harbaugh and Minter defected for the NFL. — Jacob Camenker
Jesse Minter’s rise is similar to that of Mike Macdonald, who coached for both Harbaugh brothers before the Seahawks hired him to be the NFL’s youngest head coach during the 2024 offseason.
With that in mind, there are several potential landing spots Minter could consider if he gets head coaching interviews in 2024, including the Saints and Jaguars. Here are more landing spots for the Chargers DC.
Here’s how the USA TODAY Sports staff feels the Week 11 “SNF” matchup between the Chargers and Bengals will shape up:
- Lorenzo Reyes: Bengals 24, Chargers 20
- Tyler Dragon: Chargers 23, Bengals 22
- Richard Morin: Bengals 26, Chargers 24
- Jordan Mendoza: Bengals 23, Chargers 20
- WR Charlie Jones
- WR Isaiah Williams
- S Daijahn Anthony
- LB Joe Bachie
- OT Orlando Brown Jr.
- TE Tanner McLachlin
- DT Sheldon Rankins
- QB Easton Stick (emergency third QB)
- WR DJ Chark Jr.
- RB Kimani Vidal
- OLB Khalil Mack
- OL Brenden Jaimes
- OL Jordan McFadden
- TE Hayden Hurst
Head coach Zac Taylor told reporters on Friday that he expects Tee Higgins to play in the Bengals’ Week 11 “Sunday Night Football” meeting with the Los Angeles Chargers.
Higgins returned to practice this week for the first time since suffering a quad injury in practice on Oct. 25. He missed the Bengals’ last three games while recovering from the injury.
The Chargers are favorites to defeat the Bengals, according to the BetMGM NFL odds. Looking to wager? Check out the best mobile sports betting apps offering NFL betting promos in 2024 including the ESPN BET app and Fanatics Sportsbook promo code.
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- Spread: Chargers (-1)
- Moneyline: Chargers (-115); Bengals (-105)
- Over/under: 48
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FEELING LUCKY? Here are the best parlay bets and odds for NFL games this week
- Kansas City Chiefs: 9-1
- Los Angeles Chargers: 6-3
- Denver Broncos: 6-5
- Las Vegas Raiders: 2-8
- Pittsburgh Steelers: 8-2
- Baltimore Ravens: 7-4
- Cincinnati Bengals: 4-6
- Cleveland Browns: 2-8
Temperatures in the Inglewood, California, area should hover around 60 degrees around kickoff, according to AccuWeather. There’s a 0% chance of rain in the area.
While SoFi Stadium has a roof, it is an open-air venue.
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