looking back (Nov. 9-16) | NFL: san diego chargers, 49, cincinnati bengals, 41
Sunday's game between the San Diego Chargers and the Cincinnati Bengals was a shootout as the two defenses took the weekend off. Cincinnati and San Diego piled up 90 points and 975 yards of offense between them as San Diego took a 49-41 victory in Cincinnati.
After losing four out of their last five games, the Bengals went into Paul Brown Stadium on Sunday looking to shake the buzz that the team will miss the playoffs. Carson Palmer, who threw for 440 yards on the day, and the offense worked quickly, jumping out to a 21-0 lead in the first quarter with drives of 62 yards, 89 yards, and 51 yards. Cincinnati would take a 28-7 lead into halftime-a margin that in most games would be enough for a victory.
The Chargers, however, were not about to concede anything. The team scored on its first two drives of the second half to cut the Bengals' lead to 28-21, and after a Cincy field goal, Philip Rivers led the Chargers' offense 89 yards to cut the lead to 31-28. Carson Palmer then hit Chad Johnson for a 74-yard strike and the Bengals took a 38-28 lead. Johnson would finish the day with 260 yards receiving - a Cincinnati single-game record - and two touchdowns.
But the Chargers would add three touchdowns in the fourth quarter to win the game 49-41 as LaDainian Tomlinson scored four touchdowns. Tomlinson is on record pace for touchdowns this season. Rivers, not to be outdone, threw for 337 yards and three touchdowns of his own.
looking ahead (Nov. 18-Nov. 24) | college football: "The Game" Harvard vs. Yale
One of the most storied rivalries in all of college sports enters its 123rd roundabout this weekend when the Yale football team makes the trip to Harvard Stadium. From the first game in 1875, Yale holds the edge, having won 63 to Harvard's 50 (there were eight ties and nine years in which the game was not played, mostly coinciding with national wars). But the Crimson have won the last five (including a triple-OT win at the Yale Bowl last year) and pride is wounded in New Haven.
For the 22nd time since Ivy League play formally began in 1956, the game will have direct implications for the conference title. Both teams are 7-2, while Yale is one better than the Crimson's 4-2 Ivy League mark. A win for the Elis would clinch their first outright title since 1980. Yale has shared three titles since then, in 1981, 1989 and 1999.
Senior running back Clifton Dawson broke the Ivy League rushing record with 119 yards in the Crimson's 22-13 loss to Penn last weekend. On a 55-yard rush down the sideline, his second carry of the game, Dawson surpassed the mark of 4,715 that had stood since 1971. Dawson carried the Crimson to last year's triple-overtime win, and will look to drive the stake in a little deeper, this time at home.
If nothing else, it's the clash of the two lamest fight songs in college sports. Says "Fight Fiercely, Harvard": "How we shall celebrate our victory. We shall invite the whole team Up for tea! How jolly!" Yale's is no better: "Smash, Bang, we'll rip poor Harvard! Whoop it up for Yale today!"
"The Game" will be televised live in the Boston area on WLVI-TV 56, and the whistle blows at noon.
