If it wasn’t going to be a
guaranteed blackout game prior to Sunday, the rain should just about seal it.
The resurgent Cincinnati Bengals trek west to San Diego Chargers where the June
gloom remains over San Diego. And it just may end up being the home side that
struggles with the weather.
NFLWeather.com
forecasts a 30% chance of scattered showers with the possibility of partly
sunny skies. In a city with over 200 days of 70 degree temperatures, the high
on Sunday will be topping out around 67. The Qualcomm Stadium conditions
certainly favor and reassemble that of the Midwest.
Not surprisingly, the Bolts
do not play well in the rain. Already 0-1 in rain games according to the NFLWeather
Historical Analytics, the
Chargers offense was completely inept in their 7-6 loss to the Cleveland
Browns. In that game, running back Ronnie Brown was the team’s leading receiver
with 85 yards.
The previous game prior to
the Brownies loss was a colossal collapse at home to the division rival Denver
Broncos. Last week they blew a fourth quarter lead and let the Baltimore Ravens
complete a 4th and 29 en route to an overtime heartbreaker at home,
16-13. Once a regular perennial powerhouse, now nothing more than mediocre; the
Chargers (4-7) are destined for major change.
But it’s a different story in
Cincy. Following a string of three consecutive wins, the Bengals (6-5) are
indeed a legitimate playoff contender. Even though Cincinnati has lost their
last two road rain games, they won their most recent outing with Andy Dalton
leading the comeback and stealing a win in overtime against Cleveland. The
Bengals are getting better at finding ways to win in gritty fashion.
While most defensive
coordinators focus on Andy Dalton and AJ Green, it’s the ground game that’s
been ground breaking. In the last two games the team has racked up 410 yards
and BenJarvus Green-Ellis earned his career best last week against the Oakland Raiders
with 129 yards. During those two games including the 34-10 west coast win over
Oakland, Green-Ellis has averaged 5.2 yards a carry. In a heavy downpour
against a defense that does well at taking the ball away, the Bengals should
spend most of the afternoon grinding it out.
Defensively, Cincinnati will
dominate the battle in the trenches. The Chargers will be without multiple
linemen including tackle Jeromey Clary which means bad news for Philip Rivers
and an underperforming Ryan Matthews. A depleted o-line will crumble in front
of Rivers who has been sacked 32 times this season and tossed 14 picks. With
those numbers likely to climb against Cincy, Matthews desperately needs to take
some pressure off his quarterback.
But perhaps the most
desperate man on Sunday will be Norv Turner in an attempt to save his job. If
San Diego wins out there’s an off-chance they’ll slip into the playoffs and
Turner will be a savior. That remarkable finish seems extremely unlikely. Cincy
has some spunk while San Diego is simply stagnant. If any team is going to make
a valiant run to sneak into the playoffs, it’s the Bengals.
Will
Strome
Columnist
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