J.K. Dobbins ran for a 29-yard touchdown with just 18 seconds left, helping the Los Angeles Chargers defeat the Cincinnati Bengals 34-27 on Sunday night, after nearly blowing a 21-point lead in the third quarter.
Justin Herbert threw for 297 yards and two touchdowns, and ran for 65 yards as the Chargers (7-3) earned their fourth consecutive win. Dobbins scored two touchdowns in the game.
Joe Burrow threw for 356 yards and three touchdowns, but the Bengals (4-7) suffered another painful loss. They have now lost five games by seven points or less.
After struggling on offense for most of the second half, the Chargers quickly covered 84 yards in just four plays over 26 seconds on the final drive. Ladd McConkey, who caught six passes for a career-high 123 yards, had receptions of 28 and 27 yards before Dobbins scored his eighth touchdown of the season.
Dobbins had also run for a 1-yard touchdown earlier in the second quarter, extending the Chargers’ lead to 21-6. He finished the game with 56 yards on 11 carries.
Burrow drove the Bengals to the Chargers’ 43-yard line in the final seconds with a 27-yard pass, but his last two throws were incomplete. On the final play of the game, Derwin James Jr. jumped to knock down a Hail Mary pass that was heading toward Tee Higgins in the end zone.
Higgins finished with nine catches for 148 yards and a touchdown, while Ja’Marr Chase had 75 yards on seven catches and two touchdowns.
Bengals kicker Evan McPherson had two chances in the fourth quarter to give Cincinnati the lead, but missed wide left on attempts from 48 and 51 yards.
Herbert completed nine of his first 10 passes, but struggled after that, connecting on only eight of his next 26 attempts.
Cincinnati was trailing 27-6 in the third quarter but scored three times in a span of 13 minutes to tie the game. The first two touchdowns came on fourth-down conversions.
Burrow connected with Chase on a fourth-and-goal play from the Chargers’ 4-yard line, bringing the Bengals within two scores. Higgins, who had missed the last three games with a quad injury, then caught a 42-yard touchdown pass on fourth-and-2 to make it 27-20.
The Bengals tied the game at 27-27 with 12:21 remaining when Chase caught a 17-yard touchdown pass from Burrow.
Burrow was 16 of 30 for 245 yards on his final seven drives.
After McPherson gave the Bengals a 3-0 lead with a 26-yard field goal, the Chargers quickly answered. Herbert connected with Will Dissly for a 29-yard touchdown, the longest reception of the tight end’s career since 2022, when he caught a 38-yard touchdown for Seattle.
Cincinnati added another field goal before the Chargers extended their lead to 14-6 with a 26-yard touchdown pass from Herbert to Quentin Johnston. It was Johnston’s sixth touchdown of the season and his third straight game with a score.
Los Angeles made it 24-6 by halftime, scoring twice in the last five minutes. Dobbins’ touchdown came on a fourth-and-goal, and Cameron Dicker kicked a 19-yard field goal as time expired in the half.
