EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (AP) — Los Angeles Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter said he hasn’t gotten much sleep this week trying to prepare for Cincinnati’s prolific duo of Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase.
Bengals defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo likely feels the same way when it comes to figuring out ways to stop the Chargers’ Justin Herbert on Sunday night.
The second matchup between Herbert and Burrow — both first-round picks in the 2020 draft — was moved to prime time in place of the matchup between the Indianapolis Colts and New York Jets.
“I think Justin’s great. He has one of the strongest arms in the league. He plays football the right way,” Burrow said. “He’s a big, strong guy who can make plays with his legs and a tough guy that can stand in there can take hits.”
Burrow, the top pick in 2020 after leading LSU to a national championship and winning the Heisman Trophy, said he got know Herbert during the scouting combine. Herbert, the sixth overall pick and third quarterback selected, is a fan of Burrow.
“He does such a great job playing in timing and rhythm and then being able to make off-schedule plays where it is very tough on a defense. The defense thinks they won a play and he scrambles out and makes a play downfield,” Herbert said.
Herbert has not thrown an interception in his last six games and is averaging 262.2 passing yards in the Chargers’ five games since their bye. Los Angeles (6-3) is on a three-game winning streak and is 4-1 since the off week.
With a more balanced offense under coach Jim Harbaugh, Herbert has been more successful on passes of at least 20 air yards. He is 14 of 29 for 478 yards and five touchdowns on deep balls, with his 134.0 passer rating on those throws the highest in the league.
Quentin Johnston, a first-round pick last year, is one of six receivers in the AFC with at least five touchdowns.
“Justin Herbert surely is one of the five or six best quarterbacks in football,” NBC Sports analyst Chris Simms said. “The way they play is not necessarily sexy or conducive to huge quarterback numbers, but when they do drop back to pass, man, they’re usually looking for a big play. And of course, he’s dangerous that way.”
Simms said Burrow would be an MVP candidate if not for the Bengals’ 4-6 record. Five of Cincinnati’s losses have been by six points or fewer.
Burrow leads the NFL in passing yards (2,672) and completions (246) and is tied with Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson and Tampa Bay’s Baker Mayfield for the most touchdown passes with 24.
Chase leads all wideouts in receptions (66), receiving yards (981) and touchdowns (10).
“That tandem, I don’t know if there is anyone playing better,” Minter said. “Burrow has a good understanding of how you are trying to play them and sees the coverages well. Not a whole lot of trick-’ems going on with Joe. We are excited for the challenge and opportunity.”
The Chargers have won three straight over the Bengals, including 41-22 at Cincinnati in 2021.
Defensive test
The Chargers have allowed a league-low 13.1 points per game and are trying to be the first team since the 1990 New York Giants to allow 20 points or fewer in each of its first nine games.
The matchup against Burrow and Chase will be their toughest test to date. Burrow is also one of the best quarterbacks when facing zone coverage. The Chargers play the third-highest rate of zone at 83.7%.
The Chargers have 18 sacks in their past three games and will need to pressure Burrow.
“I think this will be the first game all year where they’re going to have to dabble in man a little bit more than maybe they’d like to. I don’t think you can sit there and just go, we’re going to do what we do all game long and just continue to play all these zones and combination zone coverages. To me, that’s where Burrow is really tough to beat,” Simms said.
Grounded
The Bengals have struggled to run the ball, averaging 89.7 yards per game, which is fourth worst in the league.
Chase Brown rushed for 120 yards in a Nov. 3 win over Las Vegas, but has been held under 50 yards in three of the last four games. Zack Moss is out for the season with a neck injury and Khalil Herbert, acquired in a trade with Chicago, fumbled on his only carry last week against Baltimore.
Brown’s ball security has not been much better, with two fumbles in the last five games.
The Bengals are averaging 0.7 yards before contact on runs, seventh worst in the league.
Keep an eye on …
The matchup between Bengals defensive end Trey Hendrickson and Chargers left tackle Rashawn Slater. According to the NFL’s Next Gen stats, Hendrickson has lined up on the right edge on nearly 95% of his snaps, meaning he will be going up against Slater most of the time.
Hendrickson leads the league with 11 sacks and has generated the second-most quarterback pressures with 52. Slater has a 9.1% pressure rate, 14th among 33 left tackles with at least 150 pass blocks. He has given up 4.5 sacks and 22 pressures.
“One of the great things about Rashawn is you never have to worry about him. You’re just going to know that the left side is good and he has it figured it out. You’re at your best when you’re not worried about it,” Herbert said.
Welcome back
This is the Bengals’ first trip to Southern California since their 23-20 loss to the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl after the 2021 season.
“I haven’t really thought about it. Hope it really doesn’t feel like anything, just get ready for this one,” Burrow said. “Whenever you go to these big cities to play it’s always exciting, usually in a prime-time slot. When you play in New York, Miami, LA, those are always exciting opportunities.”
Cincinnati usually leaves on Saturday for a game on the West Coast but decided to depart on Friday this time, a move coach Zac Taylor said would promote team bonding.
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AP sports writer Mitch Stacy in Cincinnati contributed to this report.
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