I’m not going to lie. I really wanted to see the Bolts beat the Bengals today. Not only to gain an edge on the race for the second seed in the AFC, but because I’m not a fan of a feel-good story unless that story involves a Chargers win. Some fans might have been able to accept a loss as a way to help Cincy deal with the loss of their late teammate Chris Henry, but I’m not one of those people. I’ve never been a fan of this version of the Bengals and their collection of deviants, especially the perpetually chirping Chad Johnson (I refuse to acknowledge his “stage” last name), and the sad loss of Henry hasn’t changed that. In fact, I wanted the Bengals to leave with more pain than they arrived with simply because I like the Chargers more than I like pity. Sue me. On to some keys of the game.

Prevent The Momentum
Much like getting off on the right foot when playing a huge away game, it was equally important for the Chargers to jump out to a lead against the ailing yet inspired Bengals today. A quick score for Cincinnati could have lit a fire that the Bolts would have been hard pressed to put out. Thankfully, after getting the ball first, Rivers led the offense down the field for a 7-0 lead through a well balanced, extremely impressive drive. I still felt the Bengals would put up a strong fight, which was proven true later, but a seemingly easy drive like that against a team desperately searching for a few good “bounces” was huge in quelling my fears.

Offensive Line Handles The Pressure
The Chargers are the most blitzed team in the league and consequently are adept at handling myriad pass rushers, but having a top five defense blitz you like crazy is much more daunting than seeing the same thing from a weak AFC West foe. Cincinnati and its up-and-coming defensive unit certainly brought the pressure today, but once again our offensive line was up to the challenge. Everyone but Marvin Lewis himself tried their luck at getting to Philip Rivers today, but very few succeeded. Rivers was given enough time to find open receivers (just barely in many cases), and led successful drives at critical points in the game. San Diego fans saw their team leave the field victorious largely because of that fact.

Antonio Gates Stays Hot
Vincent Jackson and the rest of the Chargers’ vertically inclined receivers got much of the plaudits during the first half of this season, and rightly so. Game after game, the Chargers were able to stretch the field and connect on deep passes. In the past three to four weeks, though, San Diego has faced teams that have been intent on limiting big plays. Not surprisingly, this extra attention has in fact cut the number of times per game that Rivers completes a pass for 20+ yards, but it’s also opened up

some space for Antonio Gates. During the first half of today’s game, No. 85 was once again Philip’s go-to guy. His importance to this team cannot be overstated come playoff time. Top class DBs that can shut out Jackson and Floyd are going to be present on every team, but linebackers and safeties that can cover a dynamic “crossover” like Gates are virtually non-existent. Advantage goes to Gates every time.

Overall
Today’s game was never going to be a cinch, but when the Bengals lost Chris Henry the outcome was up in the air. The Bengals absolutely did their fallen teammate proud and gave the Bolts all they could handle, but this San Diego Chargers team is full of confidence, talent, and from here on out will be playing with the title, “2009 AFC West Champions”, thanks Oakland’s dramatic win in Denver this afternoon. The Bolts need one more win to secure the AFC’s No. 2 seed. Then it’s time to focus on the playoffs, which will hopefully end with a deserving Charger team in Miami for Super Bowl XLIV on Feb. 7, 2010.

-- TRAVIS FREEBORN