Why Bengals fans should be rooting for the Chargers on Thursday Night Football

On By Littum

The Cincinnati Bengals‘ playoff hopes are slim, but they’re real, and we’ll learn more about what the road to the postseason looks like after Thursday Night Football.

Thursday’s match between Denver Broncos (9-5) and Los Angeles Chargers (8-6) pits two AFC playoff hopefuls against each other (8:15 p.m., Amazon Prime). The loser of the game will also be the Bengals’ primary target in the final weeks of the season.

However, there is definitely a preference for the Bengals, and fans should be rooting for the Chargers.

Here’s why:

Justin Herbert and the Los Angeles Chargers have an easier road ahead of them than Denver after Thursday night's game with the Broncos facing the 3-11 New England Patriots and 2-12 Las Vegas Raiders.Justin Herbert and the Los Angeles Chargers have an easier road ahead of them than Denver after Thursday night's game with the Broncos facing the 3-11 New England Patriots and 2-12 Las Vegas Raiders.

Justin Herbert and the Los Angeles Chargers have an easier road ahead of them than Denver after Thursday night’s game with the Broncos facing the 3-11 New England Patriots and 2-12 Las Vegas Raiders.

The Chargers have an easier path to the playoffs

The Bengals must win and the loser of Thursday’s game must lose, but the Broncos appear to be the easiest team for Cincinnati to overtake in the playoffs.

After Thursday, Los Angeles closes out the year with a softer schedule. The Chargers will travel to the New England Patriots, currently 3-11, and the Las Vegas Raiders, currently 2-12, to close out the regular season.

A Bengals-Broncos head-to-head

Meanwhile, the Broncos come to Paycor Stadium on Dec. 28 to let the Bengals mind their own business in a head-to-head matchup. Ideally, a win in that game would lift Cincinnati to 8-8 and drop Denver to 9-7 (that also assumes a Broncos loss against the Chargers).

Should the Bengals force this scenario, it would create a playoff scenario in the season finale.

Ja'Marr Chase and the Bengals have a game against Denver at Paycor Stadium on Dec. 28.Ja'Marr Chase and the Bengals have a game against Denver at Paycor Stadium on Dec. 28.

Ja’Marr Chase and the Bengals have a game against Denver at Paycor Stadium on Dec. 28.

The Bengals have the 10-4 Steelers in Pittsburgh for the final regular season game of the year, while the Broncos host the 13-1 Kansas City Chiefs. It remains to be seen whether Pittsburgh will have anything to play for in the game, and the same can be said for Kansas City, which has a two-game lead over the AFC’s No. 1 seed with three to play.

So is the chain of events necessary to get the Bengals in the AFC playoffs likely? No, it isn’t. But no one said this would be a favorable or easy road after the hole Cincinnati put itself in during this season.

If the playoffs are going to happen, though, Bengals fans should be rooting for the Chargers on Thursday Night Football.

This article originally appeared on the Cincinnati Enquirer: Bengals fans should root for the Chargers on Thursday Night Football