The Cincinnati Bengals fell 34-27 to the Los Angeles Chargers.

They are who we thought they were.

The Bengals and Los Angeles Chargers face off on the Week 11 edition of Sunday Night Football. Game time is set for 8:20 PM ET on NBC. You can stream the game online via Peacock or listen to the radio broadcast via the Bengals Radio Network.

For this week’s game, we’re doing something a little different for our Cincy Jungle readers.

Firstly, this will be the only game thread we have, so there won’t be any first/second half open threads to switch between.

Secondly, this will also be a live blog of the entire game, updating throughout the night and ultimately being the full recap of the game.

Follow above for in-game updates and have your say in the comments section as the Bengals do their best to reach the NFL Playoffs.

Oh, and as always, WHO DEY!

First quarter

After a pair of drives fell short for both sides, the Bengals put together a promising drive after Joe Burrow’s struggles and then hit Ja’Marr Chase for 32 yards. Then running back Chase Brown was assessed a horseneck penalty, bringing the team within the 15. They reached the three-yard line before the drive imploded under pressure on Burrow and penalties. Kicker Evan McPherson added the first points of the game.

It took the Chargers five plays to go 70 yards before a touchdown took the lead, and one of those plays was a Trey Hendrickson sack. Justin Herbert came out and cut through the defense with his feet and through the air, including a dime to tight end Will Dissly for 29 yards.

Second quarter

Another promising drive by the Bengals ends with a short McPherson field goal instead of a touchdown. Burrow and Higgins connected for a 20-yard play and another big gain on a fourth-and-1. However, they failed to capitalize on a goal-to-go situation. Jermaine Burton and Burrow had a chance for a touchdown, but a miscommunication resulted in an incomplete pass.

The Chargers were even more efficient this time with a four-play drive for a touchdown. They had three plays of more than 20 yards, including an easy touchdown catch from Quinton Johnston. The defense looked stunned in coverage of the pass.

Los Angeles took its time on this ride. It took them nine plays and almost five minutes to get their third straight touchdown. This time the defense stood on the goal line and stopped two attempts to make it 4th and goal at the one-yard line. Then, running back JK Dobbins went over the top of the offensive line and into the end zone. The Chargers took a 21-6 lead, and you can feel how deflated the team is playing in a must-win game.

The Chargers and the clock had mercy on the Bengals defense before halftime. A questionable pass rush on Hendrickson and another big play for Dissly put Herbert and the offense in a goal-to-go situation. However, Los Angeles ran out of time and had to settle for just a field goal to take the lead 24-6 and end the first half.

Not exactly the hole you want to dig yourself in in a crucial game.

Third quarter

The Chargers managed to add a field goal on a three-and-out on their first drive of the third quarter. Herbert had a 19-yard play after setting up on their own 43-yard line to start the drive. They managed to sink and dunk for a few more yards, but you could tell the defense had a lot more heart.

The Bengals answered back with a methodical 11-play drive to score their first touchdown of the game. Tee Higgins and Chase Brown helped with plays of 20+ yards. Chase finally ended the drive when the Chargers left him one-on-one in man coverage on a fourth-and-goal play. They added the extra point to make it a two-score game, 13-27

After the defense stepped up again with another three-and-out, Burrow answered back. on a fourth-and-2, he found a wide-open Higgins further down the field for the touchdown. The sheer belief of calling that game in that situation is not something to take lightly as they cut the deficit to just seven points.

To come out of halftime and make it just one game after how poorly they played early on is quite impressive in any context. The defense has made some changes, benching cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt and safety Vonn Bell in favor of younger guys behind them, and that seems to be paying off for now.

Fourth quarter

The fourth quarter started with the Chargers already at the Bengals’ 31-yard line after Dobbins bounced a run that looked dead for 15 yards. However, the defense came up with a huge momentum shift when Logan Wilson forced Herbert to fumble his knee as the quarterback went down. It was Herbert’s first turnover since Week 2.

Cincinnati’s offense got right back to work, with Burrow breaking away with sacks. The first ended as a 34-yard pass to Brown downfield, where the running back also broke a tackle after the catch. Burrow got good protection for a touchdown pass to Chase. He was able to lead it into the open part of the field for his second touchdown of the night and really created a decent lead for Chase’s ownership of the receiving triple crown (who led the league in catches, yards and touchdowns).

It also ended the game, which I don’t think many outside of the wide-eyed Bengals fans would have believed could happen. In the second half the script is completely flipped.

The defense got another quick stop to give Burrow and the offense a chance to take the lead. They were able to drive all the way to the Los Angeles 30, but couldn’t convert on third down. Then McPherson missed a 48-yard field goal. Just a deflating miss.

Fortunately, the defense still had a drive in it, with an assist from Herbert that was slightly off on a third-and-14 throw that would have been a conversion. The offense got back within field goal range for a McPherson relief, but unfortunately missed again. This time it was a 51-yard field goal.

This came down to a match between two teams struggling to see it out. The Bengals got another drive after the second miss, and Burrow narrowly missed Chase on a streak route, and then he couldn’t get enough of a pass to a wide-open Higgins after breaking out of the pocket on third down.

On the next drive, the Chargers and Herbert finally put it together, and the quarterback hit Ladd McConkey for two huge plays. Then, already within field goal range, Dobbins broke free on a run and made it all the way to the end zone with just 18 seconds left. However, most would advise him to simply move within the boundaries so as not to give the opponent’s offense a chance.

After a pass to Andrei Iosivas set them up on the Chargers side of the field, all Hail Mary attempts failed. The Bengals lose 34-27.

This loss sucks. It feels like this team is finding new ways to break our hearts. We went from a blowout to a huge comeback to a heartbreaking and frustrating loss. They might as well have lost by 20. Instead, the front office will view this as yet another close loss, and we likely won’t see any changes other than those in the game.

Good old Mike Brown.

Furthermore, this loss pretty much destroys all chances aside from almost winning and still needing some help afterwards. This is still a tough blow for a team and franchise that expected so much more coming into the season. All that seems to be left is that it’s mathematically over.