Los Angeles Chargers vs. Cincinnati Bengals Matchup Preview (12/5/21): Betting Odds, Depth Charts, Live Stream (Watch Online)

Los Angeles Chargers vs. Cincinnati Bengals Matchup Preview (12/5/21)

Coming off a disappointing 28-13 road loss to the Denver Broncos, the 6-5 Los Angeles Chargers travels to Cincinnati to play the Bengals at Paul Brown Stadium.  Cincinnati, 7-4 are coming off a dominating win over their division rival the Pittsburgh Steelers, 41-10 in week 12.  Per NFL.com, the Bengals scored 40 plus points and won by 30 plus points vs. the Steelers for the third time in the 103-game history of the matchup between the clubs.  The Chargers are 2-3 in their last five games after starting the season 4-2 and looking like one of the best teams in the NFL. 

Los Angeles Chargers vs. Cincinnati Bengals Betting Odds

The Bengals are a 3-point home favorite in week 13.  The Chargers are 5-6 against the spread this season; 3-2 on the road.  Los Angeles has scored at least 27 points in a game five times this season.  Cincinnati has scored at least 30 points in five of their last six games, once in their previous 13 games.  The Chargers are averaging 19.2 points per game on the road and the Bengals are averaging 26 points per game at home.  Per PFF, Cincinnati is 56-6-2 in games when scoring 25 plus points since 2011.  Los Angeles is averaging 25 points per game in their last five contests.

Who will win the battle of the second-year gunslingers between Justin Herbert and Joe Burrow?  Each team is in the AFC playoff mix and this game could factor in who makes the playoffs and/or seedings.  

My Prediction: Bengals 28-23, Bengals cover and over 50.5 points.

TV Schedule

Date: 12/5/21
Time: 1:00 PM ET
Location: Soldier Field – Chicago, IL
TV Coverage: FOX

Los Angeles Chargers vs. Cincinnati Bengals Live Stream

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Los Angeles Chargers Analysis

Last weekend in the loss to Denver, Justin Herbert was 28-44 for 303 yards, two touchdowns, two interceptions with a quarterback rating of 80.  He has thrown eight interceptions in five losses this season; two interceptions in six wins.   Herbert has thrown for a least two touchdowns in a game 17 times in his career.  The former Oregon Duck has passed for more than 300 yards 14 times in his career, no other quarterback since at least 1950 had more than 10 such games in their first two seasons per NFL.com.  In 2021 the second-year quarterback has thrown for 3,230 yards, 24 touchdowns and completing 66% of his passes. The Chargers quarterback has attempted at least 30 passes in a game 11 times this season; tied for most such games in the NFL.  After a few tough weeks, Justin Herbert is +1200 to win the 2021 NFL MVP.

Austin Ekeler had 18 touches for 99 yards from scrimmage and a touchdown in the loss to Denver.  Per NFL.com, he scored 21.9 fantasy points.  He is leading the team in rushing with 604 yards on 135 carries: averaging 54.9 yards per game.  Ekeler is also an excellent receiver out of the backfield catching 51 passes for 473 yards. He has 23 career receiving touchdowns, no other Charger running back has more than 15 in the Super Bowl era.   On the season, he has 1,077 yards of total offense and 14 touchdowns on the season (seven rushing and seven receiving).  

Keenan Allen is one of the top receivers in the NFL.  This season he has 81 receptions (targeted 116 times) for 895 yards and two touchdowns; averaging 81.4 yards receiving per game.  In the loss to the Broncos, he had seven catches for 85 yards: averaging 12.14 yards per catch.  Keenan Allen has tied Antonio Brown (111 games) as the fastest players to reach 700 plus receptions in NFL history.  Mike Williams is the Chargers other outstanding receiver.  In the loss to Denver, he had four receptions, averaging 9.75 yards per reception.  In 2021 he has 50 receptions for 477 yards, averaging 14.9 yards per reception.  He is tied with Austin Ekeler for the team lead in receiving touchdowns with seven.  

The Chargers’ run defense has had trouble this season allowing 145.3 yards per game, ranking them 32^nd in the league.  Los Angeles has allowed at least 100 rushing yards nine times this season; tied for most such games in the NFL.  With Joe Mixon coming off a career day vs. the Steelers, it could be a long day for the Chargers rushing defense. 

Los Angeles’s pass defense is third in the league allowing 204.9 passing yards per game.  The Chargers have 21 sacks on the season.  Joey Bosa has at least one sack and one or more forced fumbles in a game nine times in his career.  The former Ohio State Buckeye has 7.5 sacks, 26 solo tackles, four tackles for loss and 15 quarterback hits on the season.  It’ll be on Bosa and the rest of the defensive line to get pressure on Joe Burrow to slow the Bengals passing game.  

Los Angeles Chargers Depth Chart

QB: Justin Herbert
RB1: Austin Eckler
RB2: Justin Jackson
WR1: Keenan Allen
WR2: Jalen Guyton
WR3: Mike Williams
TE1: Jared Cook

Cincinnati Bengals Analysis

The Bengals have won two games vs. the Steelers for first time in a season since 2009.  In the victory over Pittsburgh, Joe Burrow completed 83.3% of his passes for 190 yards and a touchdown.  He has thrown 10 touchdown passes of at least 30 yards this season; single-season franchise record.  The 2019 Heisman Trophy winner has the third most rushing touchdowns by a Bengals quarterback in their first two season with four.  In 2021, the first pick in the 2020 draft has thrown for 2,835 yards, 22 touchdowns while completing 69.3% of his passes.  Burrow has thrown eight touchdown passes in his last five games, while the Bengals are 3-2 in those games.

Joe Mixon ran for a career-high 165 yards and two touchdowns in the dominating victory over Pittsburgh.  He averaged 5.9 yards per carry in the game.  Mixon has scored 13 touchdowns this season, the most by a Bengals running back since 2001.  He’s also scored at least one touchdown in eight straight games.  The former Oklahoma Sooner leads the Bengals in rushing with 924 yards and 11 touchdowns.  

Rookie Ja’Marr Chase leads the Bengals in receiving.  He has 50 receptions for 906 yards and eight touchdowns.  The first rounder out of LSU is averaging 82.4 yards per game and a tremendous 18.1 yards per reception this season.  Per PFF, he’s the third highest graded rookie wide receiver (76.7) this season.  Chase is currently +175 to win the Offensive Rookie of the Year award.    

The Bengals are allowing 20.5 points per game and 348.2 total yards of offense to their opponents this season.  

Against the pass, Cincinnati is allowing 254.5 passing yards to their opponents in 2021.  Prior to Mike Hilton’s pick-six against the Steelers in week 12, the Bengals had not scored a defensive touchdown in 42 straight games; it was the longest active streak in the NFL.  The Bengals pass rush has 28 sacks on the season.  Trey Hendrickson leads the team with 10.5 sacks.  He has at least one sack in seven straight games this season.  Additionally, Hendrickson has seven tackles for loss and 17 quarterback hits.  Defensive end Sam Hubbard is second on the team in sacks with seven and has 11 tackles for loss in 2021.

Cincinnati Bengals Depth Chart

QB: Joe Burrow
RB1: Joe Mixon
RB2: Samaje Perine
WR1: Ja’Marr Chase
WR2: Tee Higgins
WR3: Tyler Boyd
TE1: C.J. Uzomah
TE2: Drew Sample

Los Angeles Chargers vs. Cincinnati Bengals Daily Fantasy Picks

Los Angeles is 1-5 this season in games that Justin Herbert has a passer rating under 100; 5-0 with a passer rating over 100.  On the season, the Chargers field general has a 96.5 passer rating.  Per NFL.com, Herbert has scored at least 15 fantasy points 19 times in his career.

Tee Higgins had six catches for 119 yards and a touchdown: averaging 19 yards a reception in the victory over the Steelers. He has 43 receptions for 560 yards and three touchdowns: averaging 13 yards a reception this season.  The former Clemson Tiger was one of the top-scoring wide receivers in week 12 with 23.4 points per PFF.