Chargers vs. Bengals: What's the Game Plan for San Diego?

The San Diego Chargers are on the road for this week's matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals.

The Bengals have won the past three regular-season meetings, including the most recent in 2013. The Chargers were held to a season-low for points in a 17-10 loss at home and Cincinnati's defense forced three turnovers.

The teams played a second time in the postseason and San Diego came away with a 27-10 win on the road. The Chargers defense reciprocated by forcing four turnovers.

Looking ahead to Sunday's matchup, the Bengals come in as the seventh-ranked team in NFL.com's power rankings following last week's 33-13 road win over the Oakland Raiders. The Chargers aren't far behind, sitting in the 11th spot after coming back to win their home opener 33-28 against the Detroit Lions.

Let's take a look at this week's game plan for San Diego and highlight some of the key players and matchups.

Offensive Game Plan

The Bengals don't have any Pro Bowlers in their secondary, but they work well as a unit to defend the pass. Last season, they tied with the St. Louis Rams for the third-fewest touchdowns (18) allowed through the air and had the second-most passes defensed (93).

It all starts up top with talented fourth-year pro George Iloka, who Pro Football Focus' Gordon McGuinness says is ready to emerge as a top safety in the NFL. As McGuinness writes, "Iloka allowed a reception just once every 51.8 snaps in coverage [last season], the best mark in the league at safety. He also improved against the run, where he had a grade of +3.6 in 2014, after grading at -0.6 in 2013."

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Iloka has been listed as questionable for Sunday, per the team website, after suffering an ankle injury in the first half of last week's game against the Raiders, but there's a good chance he plays after having been able to practice the last few days.

With that in mind, the Chargers need to be vigilant in the passing game. The Bengals totaled 20 interceptions last season, and Philip Rivers has had at least one pass picked off in each of the last three regular-season meetings against Cincinnati.

Up front, the Bengals have an aggressive front four that can get after the quarterback, led by sixth-year pros Geno Atkins and Carlos Dunlap. Atkins, an All-Pro in 2012, will challenge the interior of San Diego's offensive line from his defensive tackle spot and Dunlap, who led the team with eight sacks last season, generates pressure off the edge.

And while the Bengals front seven limited Oakland to a paltry 63 yards rushing last week, I would still expect the Chargers to establish their run game with Melvin Gordon and Danny Woodhead. Gordon looked the most comfortable he's been against the Lions, and as Michael Gehlken wrote for the San Diego Union-Tribune, the rookie running back is expected to get more chances in the red zone this week.

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The game plan on offense will look a lot similar to what it did last week, with the only difference being that Rivers probably won't throw for 400 yards, nor will Keenan Allen set a team record for catches. This time around, however, it will be interesting to see if the Chargers can get it going early rather than waiting till the second half. 

Defensive Game Plan

The Bengals are a balanced team on offense with the option to run or throw with the collection of talent surrounding fifth-year quarterback Andy Dalton. Taking a look at the run game, it's pick your poison with either Jeremy Hill or Giovani Bernard.

Hill, who had over 1,000 yards rushing as a rookie last season, is the workhorse on first and second down while Bernard serves as the change-of-pace back and pass-catcher out of the backfield. Together they work in perfect harmony to keep the defense on its heels.

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The Chargers did not do a good job against the run last week, and they really can't afford to do so again this week. If Hill and Bernard have their way in the running game, they'll easily wear down San Diego's defense.

Moving on to the passing game, Dalton has thrown three touchdowns to five interceptions for his career against the Chargers, but the emergence of tight end Tyler Eifert will help Cincinnati's quarterback tremendously. Eifert, who caught nine passes for 104 yards and two touchdowns against the Raiders last week, is a difficult matchup for any defense in that he's too big for defensive backs and too fast for linebackers like a lot of the tight ends are these days.

Then, of course, there's receiver A.J. Green, who's made the Pro Bowl every year since he was drafted in 2011. Despite missing three games last season due to injury, Green still finished with his fourth consecutive season of over 1,000 receiving yards. No doubt, he will be a primary focus on defense for the Chargers.

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The game plan on defense isn't hard to figure out: contain the run and limit Green and Eifert in the passing game. It's easier said than done, but the Chargers showed they were capable of it in the second half against the Lions.

Key Players and Matchups

Orlando Franklin vs. Geno Atkins

Ricky Henne of Chargers.com has this matchup listed as one of his five keys to the game for Sunday. Atkins can wreak havoc up front and make it difficult to do much of anything on offense, so we may see the Chargers double him up with Franklin and center Chris Watt a couple of times.

Atkins hasn't been as dominant as he once was since tearing his ACL in 2013, but he's still a force to be reckoned with.

Joe Barksdale vs. Carlos Dunlap

Dunlap hasn't captured his first Pro Bowl yet, but he's right there as one of the up-and-comers at his position. Barksdale will be given the assignment of keeping Dunlap out of the backfield and away from Rivers at all costs.

The offensive line allowed only two sacks last week against a pretty good Lions D-line, but let's see how they do against Atkins and Dunlap.

Jimmy Wilson

With Jahleel Addae missing practice this week with an ankle injury, it's looking like Wilson will make his first start for the Chargers at strong safety next to Eric Weddle. Wilson was picked up in free agency after a career year with the Miami Dolphins in 2014 and looked good in the preseason for San Diego.

With Addae likely out, the Chargers lose their big-hitter in the secondary, but Wilson has some pop in his hits as well. We'll see how he does in a starting role.

Chris Hairston

Hairston, too, is likely getting his first start with the Chargers this season after coming over from the Buffalo Bills in the offseason. With D.J. Fluker expected to miss the next couple of weeks with a high-ankle sprain, Hairston will probably be the one to fill in at starting right guard.

Hairston played well in the quarter-and-a-half or so he was in last week for the injured Fluker, but as a longtime tackle starting his first game at guard, it will be interesting to see how he handles the switch.

Prediction

I said it before in this week's game preview, and many probably share the same thought. The Bengals are good in the regular season but not the postseason, so being that's it the regular season and they're at home, I would assume they take care of business.

Cincinnati's running game will give the Chargers problems on defense and eat away at the time of possession, leaving Rivers and Co. with little time to work on offense. Like last week, this game should be close toward the end, but the Bengals get it done to move to 2-0 while San Diego falls to 1-1.

Predicted Score: Bengals 27, Chargers 21