CINCINNATI (AP) — Andy Dalton threw three touchdown passes, and the Bengals quickly ended Philip Rivers’ streak of perfect passing while pulling away for a 24-19 victory over the San Diego Chargers on Sunday.
Dalton’s 9-yard throw to Tyler Eifert put the Bengals (2-0) in control midway through the fourth quarter. San Diego (1-1) set up Cincinnati’s first touchdown with a fumble.
Giovani Bernard took over as the running back after Jeremy Hill lost two fumbles. He finished with 123 yards.
Rivers finished two shy of Donovan McNabb’s NFL record of 24 consecutive completions.
Rivers’ streak ended at 22, a Chargers record that ties for third-longest in NFL history. Peyton Manning completed 23 straight. Joe Montana, Mark Brunell, David Carr and Matt Ryan had also streaks of 22 completions.
Rivers threw a 10-yard touchdown pass early in the second half, the 255th of his career that moved him ahead of Dan Fouts for the club record.