INGELWOOD, CALIF. — The Bengals rallied from a 21-point deficit in the third quarter on Sunday but fell short, falling 34-27 to the Chargers.

This was a must-win and things looked bleak for most of the first half. The Chargers built a 24-6 halftime lead. Cincinnati rallied, but it wasn’t enough.

Evan McPherson missed two field goal attempts that would have given the Bengals the lead in the fourth quarter and JK Dobbins ran for a 29-yard touchdown with 18 seconds left to seal the victory.

The Bengals are 4-7 this season. This season they are 1-6 in one-score games.

Here are our post-game observations:

Money Mac misses twice

Bengals kicker Evan McPherson had two chances in the fourth quarter to give the Bengals the lead. He missed a 48-yard attempt with 7:31 remaining. He followed that up with a 51-yard miss with 1:48 remaining.

McPherson has had his fair share of problems this season, but it doesn’t get much worse than Sunday evening. They needed to win and they gave McPherson chances, but he missed both left kicks.

Burrow leads the rally

Joe Burrow completed 28 of 50 passes for 356 yards and three touchdowns. All three touchdowns came in the second half.

Burrow led Cincinnati on three straight touchdown drives in the second half, helping Cincinnati tie the game at 27. They trailed 27–6 early in the third quarter.

It felt like the season was over, but Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase and the Bengals came back in the second half. It wasn’t enough to get the win, but they did their part and almost succeeded.

First half defense

The Chargers went three-and-out on their first possession of the game. They responded by scoring on their next four possessions, including three touchdowns, to take a 24–6 halftime lead.

Justin Herbert started the game completing his first seven passes for 137 yards and two touchdowns. He also had two runs for 50 yards.

Third quarter rally

The Bengals trailed 27-6 early in the third quarter. Joe Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins did their part to spark a rally.

First, Burrow found Chase for a four-yard touchdown on fourth down to cut the lead to 27-13. The Bengals defense was shut down and the offense found more success on fourth down.

Burrow connected with Tee Higgins for a 42-yard touchdown on 4th-and-2 to cut the lead to 27-20 with 2:59 left in the third quarter.

Key turnover

The Bengals trailed 27-20 early in the fourth quarter with the Chargers within scoring range. Mike Hilton tackled Herbert during a quarterback battle. Logan Wilson knocked the ball out as Herbert was tackled and Geno Stone recovered.

That gave Burrow the chance to tie the game. That’s exactly what he did. The star quarterback led Cincinnati on a 7-play, 81-yard drive that ended with a 17-yard touchdown against Ja’Marr Chase, tying the game at 27 with 12:21 remaining.

Next

The Bengals have a bye in Week 12. They play the Steelers on Sunday, December 1 at 1:00 PM ET at Paycor Stadium.

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