Quick take: Impressive offensive display sees Bengals past Chargers, to the Super Bowl
Chris Crocker effectively ended all hopes of a Chargers comeback when he forces a rare LT2 fumble
It was over when...
SS Chris Crocker stripped the ball from Ladainian Tomlinson at the Bengals 3-yard line with 7:30 to go and the Bengals leading 41-31. Seconds earlier, Quentin Jammer had intercepted Carson Palmer and given the Chargers the ball in great field position at the Cincinnati 12. But after LT2’s fumble, the Bengals never looked back, driving 90 yards down the field and taking nearly 5 minutes off the clock before Cedric Benson walked in untouched for his third TD of the day.
Game ball
Cedric Benson was the Bengals workhorse, rushing for 138 yards and 3 TDs on 29 attempts. He also added 2 receptions for 30 yards, and was the main reason why the Bengals dominated time of possession.
Key stat
With Carson Palmer operating the no-huddle offense for large parts of the game, the Bengals were firing on all cylinders, amassing 553 total yards and 26 first downs.
Noteworthy
Robert Geathers opened the scoring when he brought down Philip Rivers in his own end zone for a safety after Kyle Larson had pinned the Chargers at their own 2 yard line with a great punt early in the first quarter... The Chargers went into halftime with a 24-20 lead after Philip Rivers strung together several passes for huge gains in the second quarter. He had only 8 completions at halftime, but they went for 270 yards and 3 TDs of 72, 91 and 10 yards, respectively... Vince Jackson had 8 receptions for 193 yards, while T.J. Houshmandzadeh had 6 for 154... Shawne Merriman had 11 tackles, including 2 sacks... The Bengals now face the St. Louis Rams in the Super Bowl... The Rams beat the Bengals in a close-fought game late in the regular season to keep their playoff hopes alive... This marks the first time in NFL history that two wildcard teams meet in the Super Bowl.
