CINCINNATI — The hottest team in the AFC is … the Chargers?
That’s right. The sixth-seeded Chargers continued their hot streak Sunday by knocking off the Bengals 27-10 in an AFC wild-card playoff game to win their fifth straight game and advance to the divisional round where they will face the Broncos next Sunday.
Surprising San Diego won its first playoff game since 2008 and did not even rely on quarterback Philip Rivers to do it. Rivers threw just six passes in the first half and 16 overall. Instead, the Chargers relied on a defense that forced four Bengals turnovers and a running game that rolled up 196 yards.
San Diego outscored Cincinnati 20-0 in the second half.
Now, the Chargers get their third game this season with the division rival Broncos. The two teams split the regular-season series with the Chargers losing at home 28-20 on Nov. 10 and then winning 27-20 in Denver on Dec. 12.
“We will be confident,” Rivers said. “We’ve got to be careful we’re not overconfident, which we won’t be. Cincinnati came to our place and won five weeks ago.”
The 17-10 Bengals win on Dec. 1 was the last time the Chargers lost. The streak they went on after that let them sneak into the playoffs as the sixth seed. But they showed Sunday they were not just content to get to the postseason.
The loss extends the Bengals’ drought without a playoff win in 23 years. Their last win in the postseason came on Jan. 6, 1991 against the Houston Oilers with Boomer Esiason at quarterback. It is the longest stretch without a playoff win for any team in the NFL.
It was the same old story for coach Marvin Lewis, Andy Dalton and Co.
Lewis is now 0-5 in the playoffs in 11 seasons as Bengals coach. Dalton is 0-3 in the playoffs with one touchdown and six interceptions.
The Bengals entered this game 8-0 at home and with the No. 3 defense in football. Still, their offseason came early.
“It’s very frustrating,” Dalton said. “We had another opportunity. What you do in the regular season doesn’t matter once you get to the playoffs. All the good things we did this year, and to come out and not win this game hurts.”
The Bengals led 10-7 at halftime on a rainy day at Paul Brown Stadium. Cincinnati received the ball to open the second half, but the drive stalled at the 50 and the Bengals had to punt.
Rivers, who had gone 5-for-6 in the first half, engineered a 10-play, 80-yard drive that ended with him finding tight end Ladarius Green in the end zone for a touchdown and a 14-10 lead. Rivers went 6-for-6 for 68 yards on the drive.
Dalton had the first of his three second-half turnovers on the Bengals’ next possession. He fumbled the ball on a scramble and it was recovered by Chargers safety Jahleel Addae. A Nick Novak 25-yard field goal extended San Diego’s lead to 17-10.
Novak would tack on another field goal after cornerback Shareece Wright intercepted Dalton late in the third quarter.
Ronnie Brown’s 58-yard run with 2:27 left in the game punctuated the Chargers win. Brown was one of three Chargers rushers to gain more than 50 yards in the game along with ex-Jet Danny Woodhead and Ryan Mathews.
The Chargers relied on a running game that averaged 4.9 yards per carry and a defense that forced four turnovers and sacked Dalton three times. All Rivers had to do was not screw things up.
“With the way our defense was playing, as long as we didn’t have a disaster and made the plays when they were presented,” Rivers said, “we were going to win the game.”