Read Sports Geek’s argument and Loyal Homer’s argument about which will be the best game of this coming week(end).
Sunday’s matchup between the Cincinnati Bengals and the San Diego Chargers was already going to be very exciting. It is a late-season matchup between two of the best teams in the AFC, featuring the probable division champions in the AFC North and AFC West. It is likely a playoff preview, with the winner assuming control of the remaining AFC bye during the first round of the playoffs (Indianapolis has already claimed one of them).
Yesterday, though, the buildup to the game took an entirely different direction after Bengals wide receiver Chris Henry died as a result of injuries suffered in an accident earlier this week. Although Henry had not been active on the Bengals roster since suffering a broken arm in early November, he was nonetheless a member of the Bengals family, and his tragic death will certainly impact the teams as it plays out the remainder of the 2009 season.
This is the second time that death has cast a pall over the Bengals during a season that should be full of celebration and excitement. When defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer’s wife suddenly passed away earlier in the year, the Bengals showed their support by rallying around Zimmer (who returned to coach the Bengals in a game only three days after her death), and played to a very inspiring win over the division rivals Baltimore Ravens.
Once more, the Bengals will take the field on Sunday in honor of a lost member of the family. Whether this loss will serve as motivation or a distraction for the Bengals has yet to be seen, but the importance of this game cannot be overlooked. If the Bengals succeed in defeating San Diego, they will clinch the AFC North and hold the tiebreak over San Diego, securing control of the second AFC bye.
As sorry as San Diego may be for the passing of Chris Henry, though, the team is not about to just hand the Bengals the game with a sympathy card attached. There is just as much at stake this weekend for the San Diego Super-Chargers, a team that is trying to lock up a bid for the postseason in front of the hometown fans on Sunday afternoon.
If you were paying very close attention last weekend, you may have heard this obscure fact: Did you know that Philip Rivers is undefeated as a starter when playing games in the month of December?! I didn’t know that until Terry Bradshaw, Jimmie Johnson, Howie Long, Boomer Esiason, Dan Marino, Bob Costas, Al Michaels, Keith Olberman, Chris Berman, and just about every other NFL analyst harped incessantly on the fact as if they had just uncovered some ground-breaking discovery… but, I digress. The point is that Philip Rivers and the San Diego Chargers are playing some of the best football in the league right now, and have won each of the last eight games.
San Diego, a team that had been overshadowed by Denver’s surprise start this season, has assumed control of the AFC West, as most preseason projections indicated. Like Cincinnati, the Chargers can clinch the division with a win and would tighten the grip on the second seed in the AFC playoffs (or possibly clinch it with a little extra help from around the league).
This Sunday, while our hearts are with the Cincinnati Bengals, our eyes will be on Qualcomm Stadium for this game between two of the AFC’s best!
Posted by Bleacher Fan 
