Chargers vs. Bengals: Postgame Grades, Notes and Quotes for San Diego

The San Diego Chargers came up short in Cincinnati, losing to the Bengals 24-19 on Sunday.

Philip Rivers was picked off by Bengals linebacker Vincent Rey as the Chargers were driving for the go-ahead score in the final minutes of the game, thus ending any chance at another comeback win like he helped pull off against the Detroit Lions in Week 1.

But it wasn't entirely Rivers' fault that San Diego lost. The Bolts had plenty of opportunities to get ahead in the game, but they fell victim to their own mistakes with penalties, poor decisions and turnovers. 

For more on Sunday's loss, click next.

Position Grades for Chargers

Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports

Position	Grade
QB	C-
RB	A
WR	D+
TE	B
OL	F
DL	C-
LB	C+
DB	D
Special Teams	D-
Coaching	D

QB: It comes down to turnovers, and Rivers had two (fumble, interception), but the worst of all was the pass he forced to Malcom Floyd with at least five Bengals defenders in the area.

RB: Melvin Gordon might have reached the 100-yard mark had the Chargers not been forced to throw more late in the game, but it was a very productive day for the rookie with 88 yards on 16 rushes. Danny Woodhead led the team in receiving with six catches for 68 yards.

WR: San Diego's receivers may identify as aliens, but Cincinnati's secondary made them look quite human. Keenan Allen, coming of last week's 15-catch performance against the Lions, had just two catches for 16 yards. Floyd had a 40-yard receiving score and Stevie Johnson caught a touchdown for the second straight game.

TE: Ladarius Green, starting again this week for suspended All-Pro Antonio Gates, had five catches for 47 yards. His trial run as the starter continues for two more weeks.

OL: I don't give out F's often, but I think everyone will agree it was warranted on this day. Four sacks on Rivers, miscues in the running game and the bulk of San Diego's penalties.

DL: Andy Dalton went untouched for most of the game, and Giovani Bernard went over 100 yards rushing for just the second time in his career. Corey Liuget blew up a couple of runs, but it was all for naught.

LB: Manti Te'o's personal best for tackles is 11, and he came up one shy, playing one of his better games at inside linebacker. Donald Butler ripped the ball right out of Jeremy Hill's hands for a forced fumble, and he added seven tackles. San Diego's outside linebackers were unable to get pressure on Dalton, and Melvin Ingram was held in check by Cincinnati's top-flight tackles on the edge.

DB: Brandon Flowers was roughed up for all three passing touchdowns. He had good coverage on the first against A.J. Green and was beaten over the top on scores by Marvin Jones and Tyler Eifert. Jimmy Wilson, starting for the injured Jahleel Addae, had a good game with seven tackles and a fumble recovery.

Special Teams: Coverage on kick returns continues to be poor, and Allen's muffed punt at the start of the game took away momentum from San Diego's opening defensive stand. Rookie Josh Lambo missed a 47-yard field goal in the second half that would have given the Chargers the lead. He had made four straight up until then.

Coaching: Poor clock management at the end of the first half and an even worse job of conserving timeouts in the second half.

Rivers Passes Dan Fouts for Most Passing TDs

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Rivers had tied the mark for most passing touchdowns in team history last week against the Lions and finally etched his name at the top when he hit Johnson for No. 255, passing Hall of Famer Dan Fouts. Ironically enough, Fouts was calling the game in the booth for CBS and congratulated Rivers on his accomplishment during the broadcast. "I look forward to the day where I can welcome him to Canton, Ohio and the HOF because he is definitely in that category."

Fouts even joked that Rivers might get to 354 before he's done in a Chargers uniform.

Melvin Gordon, Shades of LT

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As Chargers assistant director of public relations Scott Yoffe tweeted out, Gordon became the first San Diego running back to have three carries of 20 or more yards since the great LaDainian Tomlinson did so in 2007 against the Kansas City Chiefs. Gordon averaged 5.5 yards per carry against the Bengals and looked like the player he was praised as at Wisconsin, making athletic moves and running with power.

He seems to be getting more and more comfortable with each game that passes, and he's been able to block out the struggles of the offensive line.

Keenan Allen's Bad Day

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On the punt he muffed in the first quarter, Allen admitted he tried to make a move before looking the ball in, per Marty Caswell of The Mighty 1090 AM, a mistake that resulted in a touchdown for the Bengals on the other end. His performance on offense wasn't much better as he was held in check for just two catches by the Bengals defense. Allen was uncoverable last week against the Lions, but defensive coordinator Paul Guenther seemed to have an answer for him with Adam Jones shadowing the star receiver for most of the afternoon.

The Chargers can only hope it was one of those days for Allen and not a longstanding slump like the one he dealt with last season.

HC Mike McCoy on Penalties

Gary Landers/Associated Press

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Too many penalties at critical times...we have to do a better job of not turning it over...we weren't smart enough entire game" (per Marty Caswell of The Mighty 1090 AM)

"

The Chargers had eight penalties for 64 yards lost, many of which came against the offensive line for holding and false starts. When it seemed like the team took a step forward, it took two steps back in mental errors. Some of the more ridiculous ones included Nick Dzubnar's taunting penalty after a kick return and Jason Verrett drawing a flag for unnecessary roughness in a skirmish after the play.

It's tough to win games on the road when you have so many mistakes stalling your momentum, and the Chargers found that out on Sunday.

Rivers on the Play of His O-Line

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They played fine. There's a few things they did I'm sure that we can clean up. But there's a few things where the ball should come out of my hand. (per Eric Williams of ESPN.com)

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Rivers may say they did fine, but in reality there's a lot of cleaning up to do. Granted, they were going up against a formidable D-line with All-Pro defensive tackle Geno Atkins and talented pass-rusher Carlos Dunlap, but the penalties and missed assignments in the running game were not excusable. The absence of D.J. Fluker at right guard was also noticeable, as Chris Hairston struggled to find his bearings at a position he hasn't played much.

Heading into next week's game in Minnesota, the Chargers might look into shuffling the O-line to compensate for the loss of Fluker over the next couple of weeks.

McCoy on Not Using Timeout Before the Half

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Always look in the best interest in the team. We had a lot of confidence we'd score to open the second half. (per Xtra 1360 Fox Sports San Diego)

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After forcing a Bengals punt toward the end of the first half, McCoy let the clock run all the way down from about 50 seconds despite having a pair of timeouts still available to him. Most would argue he should have called timeout, gotten the ball back and let his offense work the last 40 seconds or so.

At the very least, Rivers could have gotten them in field-goal range and turned an eight-point deficit into five points. Confidence or not, you need to take advantage of every possession.