Where: Paycor Stadium, Cincinnati, Ohio
Temperature: 29°
Head Official: Gene Steratore
Attendance: 54194
Carson Palmer passed for 269 yards and four touchdowns – two to Jerome Simpson - as the host Cincinnati Bengals ended the San Diego Chargers’ playoff hopes with a 34-20 victory on Sunday.
Jermaine Gresham and Jordan Shipley each caught scoring passes for the Bengals (4-11), who have won two in a row following a 10-game slide.
With the Chargers (8-7) needing a win to keep pace with the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC West, Cincinnati dashed their hopes quickly when Palmer and Gresham hooked up for a 3-yard score early in the first quarter. Simpson’s first touchdown in the second made it 13-0.
The Chiefs clinched the division title with the Chargers’ loss.
San Diego cut it to 13-10 when rookie Ryan Mathews broke for a 23-yard touchdown in the third quarter, but Palmer threw two more touchdown passes in the fourth quarter and Bernard Scott added a 10-yard rushing score to put it away.
Philip Rivers finished 27 of 40 with a touchdown and an interception for the Chargers, who turned the ball over twice.
| L.A. Chargers | Cincinnati | |
| Ryan Mathews | Player | Cedric Benson |
| 12 | Attempts | 24 |
| 55 | Yards | 52 |
| 4.6 | Avg Yards | 2.2 |
| 1 | Touchdowns | 0 |
| 23 | Long | 11 |
| L.A. Chargers | Cincinnati | |
| Legedu Naanee | Player | Jerome Simpson |
| 4 | Receptions | 6 |
| 59 | Yards | 124 |
| 14.8 | Avg Yards | 20.7 |
| 0 | Touchdowns | 2 |
| 19 | Long | 59 |
| Yards | Scoring | Defense | ||||||
| Team | Tot | Rus | Pas | TD | FG | INT | Sck | FF |
| L.A. Chargers | 313 | 64 | 249 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 1 |
| Cincinnati | 371 | 102 | 269 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1.0 | 1 |
- Cincinnati will play their next game on the road against Baltimore. The Bengals have a W/L % of .000 after a win and .000 after a loss.
- L.A. Chargers will play their next game on the road against Denver. The Chargers have a W/L % of .000 after a win and .000 after a loss.