The Bengals head west for their second straight road primetime game when they take on the Los Angeles Chargers at SoFi Stadium on Sunday Night Football. The game kicks off at 8:20 p.m. ET on NBC/Peacock. Here is what to watch for:
Burrow vs. Herbert
Sunday night features a battle between two elite quarterbacks who entered the league as first-round picks in the 2020 NFL Draft. While their careers have been linked since Joe Burrow came to Cincinnati as the No. 1 overall selection and Justin Herbert to Los Angeles as the No. 6 overall choice, this marks just their second career matchup. Herbert and the Chargers took the first game in Week 13 of the 2021 season at Cincinnati.
Both quarterbacks have run through career milestones in near record time, including 1,500 career completions. Herbert reached that mark in the fewest games in NFL history (57), while Burrow, who threw his 1,500th completion two weeks ago against Las Vegas, was the second-fastest ever at 61 games.
Herbert also is the second-fastest quarterback to eclipse 15,000 career passing yards (52 games), while Burrow tied for the fourth-fastest (56).
Burrow enters Week 11 leading the NFL in passing attempts (358), completions (246) and passing yards (2,672). He has nine passing touchdowns over the past two games, becoming the first quarterback in Bengals history to accomplish that feat and the first NFL QB to do so since Tom Brady in Weeks 1-2 of the 2021 season.
Hot Bengals Offense Faces Top-Ranked Scoring Defense
The Bengals head into this week's matchup averaging 27.0 points per game, the sixth-most in the NFL, and 254.8 passing yards per game, the fourth-most. The Chargers defense, meanwhile, is holding opponents to a league-low 13.1 points per contest. Los Angeles is the fourth team in the past 40 years to allow 20 or fewer points in each of its first nine games in a season.
Per NFL Research, this will be the fourth time in the last 10 seasons that the NFL's leading quarterback, in terms of passing yards, faces the league's top scoring defense. Since the start of the 2021 campaign, Burrow is 7-2 against defenses that rank in the top five in scoring defense (including postseason games). He has a 17-to-1 touchdown-to-interception ratio in those matchups.
Part of Cincinnati's high-scoring figures has been a result of the offense's ability to finish off drives in the red zone. The Bengals have scored either a touchdown or field goal on 28 consecutive red zone trips dating back to Week 1, the longest active streak in the NFL. They are scoring a touchdown on 72.4 percent of drives that reach the opponents' 20-yard line, the second-highest rate in the league behind Baltimore (76.7).
Chasing History
Ja’Marr Chase heads into Week 11 on Triple Crown watch, as the Pro Bowler currently leads the NFL this season in receptions (66), receiving yards (981) and receiving touchdowns (10). With 19 more yards on Sunday, Chase would become the sixth player in NFL history to start his career with four consecutive 1,000-yard receiving seasons.
Chase also has 12 career games with at least 125 receiving yards, including two this season. With another such stat line in Los Angeles, Chase would tie Odell Beckham Jr. (13) for the fourth-most games with at least 125 receiving yards by a player in his first four seasons in NFL history. Only Justin Jefferson (19), Hall of Famer Randy Moss (16) and Hall of Famer Lance Alworth (14) had more in their first four years.
Other Notes
- Burrow and Chase are the first pair of teammates to lead the NFL in passing yards and receiving yards entering Week 11 since Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford and wide receiver Cooper Kupp in 2021.
- Linebacker Logan Wilson is four tackles away from 100 this season. He can become the second-fastest Bengals player since at least 1987 to reach 100 tackles. Only Vontaze Burfict did it in less time, as he reached that mark in the team's 10th game in 2013.
- Defensive end Trey Hendrickson remains the NFL leader in sacks this season with 11. He also is credited with a league-high 22 quarterback hits, is tied for first in tackles for loss (12), and ranks second in quarterback pressures (22).
Check out the Bengals 2024 Schedule.
