Philip Rivers and the San Diego Chargers defeated the Cincinnati Bengals, 27-10, in the AFC wild-card game on Jan. 6th.
It is the Chargers’ first playoff victory since Jan. 3, 2009 when the franchise defeated Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts, 23-17, in overtime.
With the win over the Bengals, the Chargers will meet Manning and the AFC West rival Denver Broncos.
The Chargers and Broncos will meet again for the third time this season but it will be the first time both franchises have met in the postseason.
The Chargers have momentum going into the game having won four straight games including a win over the Broncos in the final Thursday night game of the 2013 season to keep the team’s playoff hopes alive.
The Chargers and the Broncos will meet on Jan. 12 at 4:40 pm eastern time for their divisional playoff matchup.
The Chargers managed to find themselves in the playoffs after a number of things played in their favor.
The team capitalized on several of their opportunities as the Bengals turned the ball over four times.
The Bengals, who finished the regular season undefeated at home suffered their first home loss of the season.
The loss also was their fifth straight playoff game under coach Marvin Lewis.
The Bengals have not won a playoff game since the 1990 season when they defeated the Houston Oilers, 41-14, in the Wildcard round.
The Bengals had a lackluster performance from quarterback Andy Dalton, who had three turnovers (two inceptions and a fumble) against the Chargers.
In three playoff games for Dalton, he has one touchdown pass (that was against the Chargers) and has thrown a total of six interceptions.
Rivers was 12 of 16 passing for 128 yards and one touchdown.
The San Diego backfield had a productive day led by running back Ronnie Brown.
Brown had eight carries for 77 yards and a touchdown.
Danny Woodhead contributed with 54 yards and one rushing touchdown, which came in the first quarter.
Starting running back Ryan Mathews had 52 rushing yards and 12 receiving yards.
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