The 49ers never had a chance in Week 8. The Bengals jumped out to a 14-7 lead and never looked back en route to handing San Francisco a third consecutive loss.
Here are our observations from the 49ers’ 31-17 loss to Cincinnati:
First quarter
– Good start for the 49ers. Christian McCaffrey got behind the right side and went for eight yards on the first play of the game. Getting into second-and-short is paramount for San Francisco’s offense.
– Three runs for the 49ers on their first series. They got into second-and-2 and ran McCaffrey into the line for a gain of one, then Kyle Juszczyk got a handoff on third-and-1 and got stuffed for a loss of a yard. Not a good first drive for a San Francisco offense that’s been struggling of late. It’s worth wondering if Brock Purdy’s concussion and lack of practice time during the week played a role in the play calling.
– Whew. The 49ers got luck on the Bengals’ first series. They ran a little play action bootleg action and had a tight end running open down the field. QB Joe Burrow took a check down instead and misfired for an incompletion.
– Near interception for Isaiah Oliver on a second-and-10 play. He read an in-breaking route to Ja’Marr Chase and jumped the throw. Chase made contact with Oliver and forced him to drop the potential INT.
– Yikes. Arik Armstead and Nick Bosa had Burrow wrapped for a third-down sack, but neither could bring him down. He wound up hitting WR Tee Higgins for 11 yards and a first down. That’s not good from the 49ers’ defensive front.
– On the next play, Bosa jumped offsides to give the Bengals a first-and-5. This defensive line has really become an issue for San Francisco.
– Now it’s the 49ers’ run defense that gets gashed. RB Joe Mixon on 1st-and-10 from San Francisco’s 31 found 20 yards through the left side. He wasn’t touched until he got into the secondary.
– Touchdown Bengals on a nice throw from Burrow to WR Tyler Boyd from 6 yards out to cap 10-play, 85-yard drive. Once again San Francisco’s defense fails to capitalize on opportunities. Cincinnati had a fumble that they recovered, the near INT and a near third-down sack. All of those drive-ending plays weren’t made and the Bengals took advantage for a touchdown.
– A 13-yard pickup on first down to open the ensuing drive by the 49ers. Brock Purdy hit McCaffrey on an easy check down throw.
– Toss left on second-and-8 goes nowhere. The 49ers cannot run to that side with Trent Williams out.
– Nice work by Purdy on third-and-8. He went through his progressions, didn’t have anyone open and found 16 yards on a scramble instead. He needs to do that more often.
– Excellent throw on the run to WR Brandon Aiyuk for 31 yards. Purdy had to bail out of a collapsing pocket and found Aiyuk wide open on a deep crosser. That’s really nice work from the QB to use his legs on back-to-back plays.
– Elijah Mitchell’s first carry comes at the four-minute mark of the first quarter. He plowed ahead for five yards on a second-and-4 deep in the red zone.
– Touchdown 49ers on a short run by McCaffrey. That’s 17 consecutive games with a touchdown for him, including the playoffs. San Francisco ran a couple of two-RB sets there with McCaffrey and Mitchell on the field at the same time. That’s a fun wrinkle they should continue working. Good response from the 49ers too with an 8-play, 75-yard TD drive to tie the game.
– Goodness. The Bengals returned the ensuring kickoff to their own 43. This has a bad vibe for San Francisco. Too many miscues in the first 12 minutes.
– The 49ers can’t cover. Their pass rush is a step behind in getting to Burrow and he’s finding wide open pass catchers all over the field. We’re reaching a point that San Francisco may need to make changes on its defensive coaching staff because whatever they’re doing isn’t working.
– Charvarius Ward got cooked by a player named Andrei Iosivas, who had two catches entering Sunday’s game. Not great. It’s 14-7, Bengals and the 49ers defense looks as bad as it did in Week 7.
End of first quarter: Bengals 14, 49ers 7
Second quarter
– Now it’s Purdy’s turn to get lucky. He nearly threw his fourth INT in the last three games. On a third-and-6 he tried finding Aiyuk down the middle and threw it directly at the LB who couldn’t hold on for the takeaway.
– The Bengals not only converted a third-and-short, but Oliver flew in and hit Chase helmet-to-helmet to tack on an additional 15 yards and put the Bengals in 49ers territory. The wheels have come off completely for a defense that was really good as of a few weeks ago.
– Good work by Oliver on a swing pass to Chase to shed his block and drop the WR for no gain.
– Third-and-9 QB draw by Burrow goes for 10 and a first down. San Francisco just cannot get off the field.
– Another excellent read by Oliver on a RB draw. He recognized it and flew in for a stop after a pickup of one yard.
– The 49ers brought a blitz on third-and-7 and finally took down Burrow for an seven-yard loss. It was Armstead who got home thanks to some good coverage downfield.
– Now Bengals K Evan McPherson misses the 50-yard field goal. Good break for the 49ers. Capitalizing on this with 7:03 left in the half would be huge. San Francisco gets the ball on its own 40.
– The 49ers settled for a 36-yard field goal after a holding call on Jauan Jennings put them way behind the sticks on second down. A Purdy scramble on third down got them to fourth-and-4 from the Bengals 18, but they elected for a field goal that Jake Moody connected on.
– Cincinnati gets the ball after halftime, and gets the ball with 2:44 left in the first half leading 14-10. Points here could make the rest of this game a steep uphill climb for San Francisco.
– Dre Greenlaw got run over on first down. Sign of the times for the 49ers defense.
– This is so easy for the Bengals. They needed four plays to go 38 yards and they’re already deep in 49ers territory. The clock isn’t even an issue.
– Chase running wide open cannot happen. It’s happened multiple times in this first half.
– Wow, pretty significant swing here. DE Clelin Ferrell forces Bengals TE Irv Smith fumbles on a second-and-goal inside the 49ers 5 and San Francisco recovers. They badly needed that turnover after being close to three or four.
– Purdy hits Kittle for 34 yards to the 49ers 40 on first-and-10. That was a big-time play that gets San Francisco not only out from the shadow of its goal post, but also puts them in position to try and score before the half.
– No dice. An Aiyuk drop ostensibly ended the series and the half. Bengals get the ball after halftime. The 49ers have some adjustments to make.
Halftime: Bengals 14, 49ers 10
Third quarter
– What a play by Ward to notch a pass breakup against Higgins to open the second half. The 49ers haven’t had great coverage all day so an early PBU in the third quarter should help.
– They went right back to it with Ja’Marr Chase on second-and-10 and got a flag.
– A 20-yard scramble for Burrow puts the Bengals in 49ers territory less than two minutes into their first series.
– Armstead gets home for another sack to put the Bengals at third-and-16 and out of field goal range for the time being. Getting him rolling could really open things up for the 49ers DL.
– A short completion to Chase on third down got Cincinnati into field goal range and this time McPherson converts on a 56-yard try. They now lead 17-10 with 11:08 to go.
– Big first down run for the 49ers on their first second-half series, but it’s negated by a holding call on Spencer Burford. He’s having a rough year.
– What a dot from Purdy to Kittle on second-and-long. He connected with the TE for 32 yards out to midfield. The Bengals haven’t been able to cover him on deep routes.
– Now Kittle drops a third-and-7 throw that would’ve gone for a first down. Just too many mistakes for the 49ers in this one.
– A three-and-out for the 49ers defense! Cincy’s first punt of the game comes more than halfway through the third quarter. The big play there was a jet sweep to Chase that Oliver sniffed out and wrapped up for a loss.
– The 49ers have made sure to keep Kittle involved. He’s up to 99 yards on four catches.
– Just an unbelievable mistake by Purdy deep in the red zone. On a roll out right he tried sneaking a throw over LB Germaine Pratt and Pratt just plucked it out of the air. That’s an abominable quarterback play that cannot happen, and it will likely spell the end of this game.
– 29-yard completion for Burrow to Higgins on the first play after the pick puts the Bengals near midfield.
End of third quarter: Bengals 17, 49ers 10
Fourth quarter
– There’s Nick Bosa and Javon Hargrave. They combined for a sack to open the fourth quarter and put the Bengals in a second-and-13.
– Tough break for San Francisco. It looked like Chase fumbled again and Gipson picked it up to run it into Bengals territory. The play was reviewed though and ruled no catch, so Cincinnati will punt instead.
– Purdy immediately gives it back. He threw a pick directly to LB Logan Wilson. Another abysmal decision.
– And one play later it’s a 17-yard game-sealing TD from Burrow to Chase. It’s 24-10 with 13:04 to go. The 49ers have absolutely nothing for Cincinnati on either side of the ball. Three straight embarrassing performances, three straight losses.
– Another drop from Kittle. This time it’s in the red zone. That’s his second.
– What a freaking play by Purdy on third-and-5. He escaped a sack then found Kittle open inside the 5 across the field. Purdy heaved it and found the TE for a first down.
– Almost an identical play on first-and-goal, but it was a designed rollout and Purdy found McCaffrey for a touchdown back across the field. That was a much-needed drive for the 49ers offense. They got a TD and scored in under 5 minutes. It’s 24-17, Bengals. Now San Francisco’s defense needs to get a stop.
– Another busted coverage leaves Bengals WR Trenton Irwin wide open for 21 yards on second-and-long. That’s happened so often where Cincinnati is able to just avoid a third down situation. They’re up to 26 first downs and have only seven third downs.
– Touchdown Bengals. The 49ers once great defense needed a stop and instead gave up a 10-play, 78-yard touchdown drive. There need to be changes at the bye week because the solutions don’t appear to be readily available.
– Purdy got bailed out of his third interception of the game thanks to a roughing the passer call. Another throw directly to a Bengals defender.
– Purdy fumbled on the next play. Bengals recovered. Ball game.
Final: Bengals 31, 49ers 17
