For the first time since the famous "Freezer Bowl," the San Diego Chargers and Cincinnati Bengals will square off in the NFL playoffs this Sunday at Paul Brown Stadium. The game will be televised on CBS and has a start time of 1:05 pm (Eastern). Current odds have Cincinnati listed as 6.5 point favorites, while the total sits at 46.5.
Analysis: San Diego (9-7) won four straight West titles between 2006-09, going 3-4 in the playoffs with Rivers in those years. The Chargers finished second each of the three previous seasons to miss the playoffs, but four straight victories to close the regular season for a third-place finish was good enough in 2013 to finally return. The teams did meet earlier in the year and San Diego lost that game on their home field 17-10. Philip Rivers threw for 252 yards in that game and overall has had a very nice year, throwing for 4,478 yards, becoming the sixth player in NFL history with five different 4,000-yard seasons. Down the stretch he has been super, throwing for 845 yards, with 9 TDs and a 109.8 passer rating over their four-game win streak to close the regular season. Ryan Mathews also had a nice year rushing for career-high 1,255 yards this season, while third-down back Danny Woodhead ranked second in the NFL in receptions (76) and receiving yards (605) among RBs. The Chargers' offense is second-best in the AFC, averaging 393.3 ypg, while their defense has allowed 366.5 ypg this year.
The Bengals (11-5) will be making their fourth playoff appearance in five seasons and third in as many seasons with Andy Dalton at quarterback. Dalton hasn't been up to par in losses to Houston in each of the last two postseasons, throwing four interceptions with no touchdowns while getting sacked six times. Dalton is 30-18 over three seasons as the Cincinnati quarterback and set a pair of single-season franchise records this year with 4,296 passing yards and 33 TD passes, but now he needs to take the next step and actually win in the postseason. Dalton has a solid wideout tandem in AJ Green and Marvin Jones, who have combined for 2138 yards and 21 TDs on the year, while the ground attack is in good hands with Green-Ellis and Bernard combining for 1451 yards and 12 TDs this year. The Bengals are 8-0 at home this year, where they have amassed 24 sacks while limiting opposing quarterbacks to a 60.6 rating with 9 TDs to 15 INTs.
Pick: Fun fact here and that's the fact that the team that has been the Eagles home opening opponent this year has gone on to win the Super Bowl 4 straight years. I don't expect the Bolts to be able to do that this year,but I do think they could keep this game close and maybe even win it. This team has been in playoff mode the last 4 weeks and have stepped up every time. The Bengals are a perfect 8-0 at home this year, but Dalton hasn't preformed well in the post season, while the Bengals have not won a playoff game in 23 years. San Diego has confidence here and the teps should be in the 40's for this one. A FG will decide this one.
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