Defense Earns the Bengals’ Respect : Chargers: Potent Cincinnati offense isn’t allowed to run wild. But Byrd kicks himself for being beaten on a touchdown pass, and teammates agree their opponent could have been shut down.

The Chargers are 0-2, and a trip to Cleveland is on the itinerary for next weekend, which could mean 0-3 and then maybe “Oh, no.”

Digging through the wreckage of Sunday’s 21-16 loss to Cincinnati at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium, it was hard to find much that was positive, other than maybe the defense, which is very close to being very good.

Just ask Boomer Esiason.

Or James Brooks.

Both had a hand in sinking the Chargers, but neither thought it was simple. Esiason completed 20 of 34 for 250 yards and three touchdowns, and Brooks, a former Charger running back, rushed 15 times for 62 yards and caught a touchdown pass.

“That was a hell of a defense San Diego had out there,” said Esiason, who threw three passes that were intercepted. “There’s little room on the field against them, especially between the hashes.”

Said Brooks: “They’re very tough. I’m glad we don’t play them again for a while.”

But as tough as the Charger defenders are on their opponents, they might be tougher on themselves. The “A-for-effort” stuff doesn’t fly.

Allowing 21 points to a potent Bengal offense is respectable, but considering the outcome, the Chargers didn’t find it acceptable.

“We scored 16 points. We hold them to 14, we win,” said free safety Vencie Glenn, shrugging his shoulders.

Why stop at 14?

“I feel we should have just shut them out,” linebacker Junior Seau said. “Simple as that.”

Not really. Scooping ice cream is simple. Watching “The Flintstones” is simple. Stopping the Bengal offense is like trying to fix a watch with a handful of big, porky fingers.

First there’s Esiason, who led the AFC in passing the past two seasons. He didn’t think he played very well (“We won in spite of me today”) but found a way to roll up a few yards.

Which brings us to Eddie Brown, the wide receiver who was on the end of exactly half of Esiason’s completions: 10. Total yardage: 178. Total net team passing yards: 223.

Throw in a few nifty plays from Brooks, and the Chargers, just like last year and the year before, have lost their first two and are wondering what is in store for them.

The question surrounding the defense remains the same. Are they just good enough to keep it close until the fourth quarter and then let it slip away?

As usual, the deciding drive came in that period. Granted, there was 12:08 to play when the Bengals went 69 yards for the game-winner and the Chargers were missing starting outside linebacker Billy Ray Smith, who missed the second half with an abdominal strain. But the pattern--three strong quarters, then a critical breakdown--was similar.

It could be that this young defense just needs to grow up.

“As long as we keep bringing in new people every year, there’s going to be a certain amount of immaturity,” outside linebacker Leslie O’Neal said. “And the older guys have got to make up for it.”

Sunday, one of the older and most reliable guys--cornerback Gill Byrd--didn’t make up for it. In fact, he thinks he was one of the biggest problems.

Byrd said he missed an assignment on Cincinnati’s first touchdown, when Brooks twisted like an Olympic diver to catch a 10-yard pass from Esiason.

“It was a defensive formation that we had just talked about on Friday, and I didn’t line up correctly,” Byrd said. “I should have made that play.”

Byrd was also beaten by Brown on the Bengals’ second touchdown, though a more perfect pass could not have been thrown by Esiason, who connected with Brown’s finger tips and missed Byrd’s by inches. Ever the perfectionist, Byrd put the burden for the loss on his shoulders.

“I just let the guys down,” he said. “I really did. It cost us the game.”

Lest we forget, Byrd also had one of three Charger interceptions, hauling down an Esiason overthrow intended for Tim McGee in the third quarter. But then in the fourth, rookie cornerback Donald Frank was beaten by Brown for 23 yards and the winning points. And with that, the Chargers went down.

Tough to figure this defense. There is a barrelful of potential. But for it to succeed, there will soon have to be a graduation from “I don’t think we embarrassed ourselves,” the words of defensive coordinator Ron Lynn, to “We stopped them and we won,” which nobody has yet had the opportunity to say.

“We have the talent,” inside linebacker Gary Plummer said. “We have the right schemes. We just have to execute.”