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LAC (1-0) | 6 | 7 | 0 | 10 || 23
CIN (0-1) | 3 | 7 | 3 | 0 || 13
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Herbert leads Chargers to victory over Bengals, earns first career win on debut
In the battle of the first round rookies, Justin Herbert earned the spoils as being the victor in his first NFL game. It almost wasn’t to be, after his ill-thrown pass soared over Hunter Henry into the arms of William Jackson on the 50-yard line with 2:30 remaining. Moments later, the flag was thrown onto the field after Geno Atkins recklessly got into the face of Herbert and drew a 15-yard roughing the passer call, which sent the Chargers to the Bengals’ 35 yard line. A few players later, Herbert found Hunter in the back of the endzone for a touchdown winning pass.
The flag may be the talk of the week in Cincinnati, but Joe Burrow’s two costly fourth quarter mistakes shouldn’t go unnoticed. He threw very well against a Chargers secondary which is top rated in the league and came out confused and played disappointingly. Their run game did not. With 7:26 remaining in the game, Joe Burrow was sacked for the third time by Jerry Tillery on the afternoon. The ball came loose and Los Angeles recovered, preserving their 16-13 lead. On Cincinnati’s next drive, Joe Burrow took off on 1st and 10 and began to run down the middle of the open field. In came rookie Kenneth Murray to deliver a crushing hit, dislodging the ball back into LA’s possession. Los Angeles took over, the interception was called back and they went down the field and put the game away. Talk about mistakes biting your butt. Welcome to the NFL, Joe Burrow.
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Scoring Summary
Quarter 1
[LAC] K. Allen 11 yd pass from J. Herbert (5:45)
[CIN] R. Bullock 23 yd FG (2:50)
Quarter 2
[LAC] V. Green, returned fumble 1 yds (1:14)
[CIN] D. Sample 2 yd pass from J. Burrow (0:09)
Quarter 3
[CIN] R. Bullock 34 yard FG (6:08)
Quarter 4
[LAC] M. Badgley 24 yd FG (8:52)
[LAC] H. Henry 1 yd pass from J. Herbert (1:49)
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Los Angeles Chargers
Justin Herbert: 19 of 26, 174 yards, 2 touchdown, 1 interceptions
Austin Ekeler: 18 carries, 98 yards, 1 fumble
Jaylen Samuels : 9 carries, 57 yards :: 3 receptions, 13 yards
Devonta Freeman: 7 carries, 17 yards :: 4 receptions, 60 yds
Hunter Henry: 5 receptions, 41 yards, 1 touchdown
Keenan Allen: 4 receptions, 33 yards, 1 touchdown
Michael Davis: 11 tackles, TFL
Drue Tranquill: 10 tackles, 1 fumble recovery
Kenneth Murray: 10 tackles, 1 forced fumble
Jerry Tillery: 5 tackles, 3 sacks, 1 forced fumble
Cincinnati Bengals
Joe Burrow: 29 of 35, 289 yards, 1 touchdowns :: 2 carries, 18 yds, 2 fumbles
Joe Mixon: 8 carries, 46 yards :: 8 receptions, 63 yards
D. Sample: 6 receptions, 48 yards, 1 touchdown
Tyler Boyd: 5 receptions, 64 yards
A.J. Green: 4 receptions, 74 yards
Luke Wilson: 8 tackles
Shawn Williams: 7 tackles
Darron Lee: 8 tackles
Jessie Bates III: 6 tackles
Josh Bynes: 5 tackles, 2 TFL, 1 forced fumble