Remember in 2006 when Carson Palmer completed 31 of 42 passes for 440 yards passing and three touchdowns against the San Diego Chargers? It was an epic first half, with the Bengals scoring four touchdowns on five first half possessions -- the non-touchdown possession ended with a missed 50-yard field goal try. We were totally on our way to dominating a team that would finish the season 14-2.
In the first half, Palmer completed 20 of 23 passes for 282 yards passing and two touchdowns for a passer rating of 146.7. Chad Ochocinco recorded seven receptions for 117 yards receiving while his old best buddy T.J. Houshmandzadeh caught six passes for 83 yards receiving. Chad would go on to record 11 receptions for 260 yards receiving and two touchdown.
It's probably the team's best passing performance during a Carson Palmer led offense to date.
Of course, the game is more is more remember for the Bengals defense allowing 42 points in the second half, losing the game 49-41.
Pro Football Reference, using Football Outsiders' statistics, ranks Palmer's performance against the Chargers as the 62nd best passing performance since the NFL's merger in 1970.
The best? Joe Namath's performance on September 24, 1972, completed 15 of 28 passes for 496 yards and six touchdowns