Philip Rivers’ most recent display of resurgence came last week when he rallied San Diego from 18 down to beat Detroit 33-28, equaling the second-largest comeback in Chargers history.
And some Bengals fans might remember the comeback that is tied for San Diego’s largest. Rivers certainly does.
It came Nov. 12, 2006, at Paul Brown Stadium when Rivers brought the Chargers back from a 21-point halftime deficit with 42 points in the second half for a 49-41 win.
“Yeah, I remember that,” Rivers said. “That one’s hard to forget. That was 28-7 at halftime. It was ugly. But it turned in a hurry.”
There’s one player left from that Bengals defense, Domata Peko. And Rivers and receiver Malcolm Floyd are the only players remaining for San Diego.
But Rivers crafted another more recent comeback against what is largely the same Bengals defense that will be on the field today. The rally wasn’t as large, but it cut twice as deep.
Cincinnati had a 10-7 halftime lead in the 2013 wild-card playoff game at PBS, only to watch Rivers and Co. score 20 unanswered points in the second half to stun the Bengals and end their season.
Rivers remembers that one, too.
So does Bengals coach Marvin Lewis.
“Well, it was a disappointing game,” he said. “But we spend a lot of time talking about the past. Let’s talk about the Chargers here now. We’re not going to get any asterisks here this week for that. This is a new opportunity coming forward.”
New opportunity, but same old Rivers, who capped last week’s rally by completing 20 consecutive passes as part of a 404-yard passing day.
“In Rivers, you have an experienced guy who is not going to be rattled, who has been in these huddles and understands the adjustments that may occur,” Lewis said. “Hopefully we take them off-course and they have to alter their plan, and we continue to stay one step ahead. With his experience, there’s nothing that he hasn’t been through already. We have to do a good job of executing and keeping him off balance.”
The Bengals have had some success against Rivers. They shut him down four weeks before the wild-card game in a 17-10 win at San Diego. And the year before the Bengals won another defensive struggle on the road, beating the Chargers 20-13.
“I’s not like we feel like we’re playing a division opponent, but there is some familiarity with the players and the scheme,” Rivers said.
If the Bengals win, they will be 2-0 for the fourth time in Lewis’ 13 seasons (2005, 2006, 2014) and the 12th time in franchise history.
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