TIME: 1 p.m. Sunday
PLACE: Paul Brown Stadium (Synthetic)
LOCAL RADIO: Dan Hoard (play-by-play) and Dave Lapham (analyst) led by Cincinnati flagship stations WCKY-AM (ESPN 1530) and WEBN-FM (102.7) on the 41-station Bengals radio network.
TV: CBS broadcast team of Ian Eagle (play-by-play), Dan Fouts (analyst) and Evan Washburn (sideline) on Channel 12 in Cincinnati, Channel 7 in Dayton, Ohio, and Channel 27 in Lexington, KY.
INJURIES
CIN:
OUT: Backup DL Marcus Hardison (knee) missed his second straight week of practice, but is expected back soon.
QUESTIONABLE: Starting S George Iloka (ankle) was limited Thursday and Friday after sitting out Wednesday. Backup CB Josh Shaw (groin) went limited Thursday and Friday after not working Wednesday.
PROBABLE: Starting S Reggie Nelson went full Friday after he played 85 percent of the snaps on Sunday. Starting CB Dre Kirkpatrick (calf) went full Friday after he was limited Thursday, when he was added to the report.
*SDC *
OUT: Starting RG D.J. Fluker (ankle). He's officially listed as doubtful, but reports have him out a couple of weeks.
DOUBTFUL: Starting S Jahleel Addae (ankle) and KR Jacoby Jones (ankle) didn't practice all week.
*QUESTIONABLE: Backup OLB Kyle Emanuel (shoulder), a regular pass rusher in nickel, went limited all week but Chargers observers think he'll play. *
PROBABLE: Starting OLB Jerry Attaochu (hamstring), starting CB Brandon Flowers (knee), backup CB Craig Mager (hamstring, inactive last week), all went full the last couple of days.
THE SERIES
The 1-0 Chargers lead 1-0 Bengals, 20-14, 10-7 in Cincinnati
NOTEWORTHY
»» The game pits two former AFL teams who staged one of the most memorable championship games ever when the Bengals beat the Chargers to go to Super Bowl XVI in the second coldest game ever on Jan. 10, 1982 in the minus-59 degree wind chill of Riverfront Stadium.
»» Their next playoff date was less dramatic. In an AFC Wild Card Game at PBS that began in 42 degrees on Jan. 5, 2014, the Chargers won, 27-10.
»» The Bengals played their first game ever against the Chargers in a Friday night game in San Diego on Sept. 6, 1968 and lost, 29-13, even though rookie RB Paul Robinson staked them to a 7-0 lead on a two-yard run.
»» Chargers QB Philip Rivers was the MVP of the 2004 Senior Bowl when his South team beat the North team coached by Marvin Lewis and his staff.
»» Chargers backup C Trevor Robinson started seven games for the Bengals as an undrafted rookie in 2012, including a win in San Diego where he helped running back BenJarvus Green-Ellis to his third straight 100-yard game.
»» Bengals RE Michael Johnson makes his PBS debut after a one-year hiatus in Tampa. His last PBS game came against the Chargers in the 2013 Wild Card Game.
»»Bengals TE Tyler Eifert makes his first PBS appearance since playing one snap against the Chargers in the Wild Card Game. The pass to him was picked off and he aggravated a stinger.
»» Chargers defensive quality control coach Chris Shula, son of former Bengals head coach Dave Shula, has a return trip. He played his college ball at Miami of Ohio and is coming off a season he was the defensive coordinator at John Carroll, the Cleveland alma mater of grandfather Don Shula.
»» Bengals WR Marvin Jones goes against Chargers WR Keenan Allen, his close friend from playing together at Cal. Each has seen the other have a 100-yard game. In the 2013 Wild Card Game against the Chargers, Jones broke Cris Collinsworth's post-season Bengals record with 130 receiving yards in a losing effort. Five weeks earlier the Bengals won, 17-10, despite Allen's 106-yard day.
»» Two of the biggest Bengals killers are in the building with Fouts in the CBS booth and Rivers under center. Fouts threw for the fifth most yards ever against the Bengals on Dec. 20, 1982 in San Diego with 435 and the 661 yards the Chargers churned is the most ever allowed by the Bengals.. On Nov. 12, 2006 at PBS Rivers delivered 42 points in the second half of a 49-41 victory, most ever allowed by the Bengals in the second half.
NFL RANKINGS
CIN: T-3rd in scoring, T-8th in offense (8th rushing, 11th passing); T-4th in scoring defense, 3rd in defense (T-2nd rushing, 10th passing), T-4th in turnover margin at plus-two.
SDC: T-3rd in scoring, 1st in offense (19th rushing, 1st passing); T-19th in scoring defense, 10th in defense (T-5th rushing, T-19th passing), T-20th in turnover margin at minus-1.
COACHES
CIN: Marvin Lewis 101-96-2 in 13th season, 4-3 vs. Chargers.
SDC: Mike McCoy 20-15 in third season, 1-1 vs. Lewis.
* *
PHILIP RIVERS WEATHER UPDATE
According to the National Weather Service in Wilmington, Ohio, skies move from partly cloudy to mostly sunny during the day with a game-time temperature of 68 degrees and virtually no chance of rain. Light winds out of the northeast at five miles per hour or less.
NUMBERS GAME
57-37-2 _ Bengals PBS record under Lewis
8-4 _ Lewis in PBS openers
12-7 _ Lewis in September PBS games
9-9 _ Chargers head coach Mike McCoy's record in road games including postseason
5-3 _ McCoy in Eastern Time Zone games, including postseason
19-15 _ Chargers September record under QB Philip Rivers in last 10 seasons
20-13 _ Bengals September record in last 10 seasons
3-1 _ Bengals QB Andy Dalton in PBS openers
5-1 _ Dalton in PBS September games
5 _ Bengals PBS winning streak in September
6 _ Bengals September winning streak
20 _ Consecutive completions by Rivers at the end of last Sunday's game
16 _ Rivers' total passes in 2013 Wild Card win in Cincinnati
24 _ Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb's record for consecutive completions in two-game stretch
25 _ Dalton's completions in last Sunday's victory in Oakland
254 _ Fouts and Rivers' career TD passes, tied atop the Chargers' list and 16th all-time
*288 _ Combined career TD passes by Dalton (101) and Carson Palmer (187) as Bengals *
150 _ Rivers' NFL start on Sunday
134 _ Bengals left tackle Andrew Whitworth's team-high NFL start on Sunday
