The Bengals suffered their second straight loss, this one at the hands of the San Francisco 49ers. It was a hard fought game, one that featured plenty of great moments, both on offence and defence. However, in what has been the theme of Cincinnati’s losses this year, self inflicted wounds proved to be costly.
The Good:
– The Bengals WR Trio
At times in the game, the passing game wasn’t utilised as much as it probably should have been, but that didn’t stop the Bengals big three from having great games. Ja’Marr Chase did have an early drop and then a TD reversed. But he overcame that by hauling in 2 TD’s. One was a great play to adjust his route with Joe Burrow scrambling, and then tap his toes in the back of the end zone. The other was a great route to create separation over the top. In addition to the 2 TD’s, he contributed 77 yards through the air and another 6 on the ground.
Tee Higgins continued his hot streak on Sunday. He was a down-the-field threat in key situations, including one early in overtime. On the day, he went for 114 yards on 5 receptions, averaging 22.8 yards per reception.
Tyler Boyd, meanwhile, has quietly been productive as well. Like Higgins, many of his plays have come in key situations. Included among them is his 29 yard reception that came when the team was looking to even the score. On the day, Boyd totaled 55 yards on 4 receptions, as well as 8 yards on the ground.
– The DL
The Bengals DL, led by Trey Hendrickson, was a constant threat to Jimmy Garoppolo. Hendickson was matched up against arguably the best OT in football, Trent Williams, and won his fair share of the reps, one of which was a sack. As well, the pressure from the inside was plentiful, as BJ Hill, DJ Reader, and Larry Ogunjobi all played well, and all registered a sack. Additionally, the run defence was pretty solid from the DL. Jeff Wilson was limited to only 56 yards on the ground and there were some nice stuffs at the line of scrimmage, with the Bengals side of it winning some key matchups.
– QB, Joe Burrow
The Bengals OL might have had their worst game of the year, as Nick Bosa and co. proved to be a tough matchup. However, he hung in there and delivered an outstanding performance. Several times, with pressure in his face, he stood in the pocket and delivered a shockingly accurate pass down the field. His best play might have been on one of his two TD passes to Ja’Marr Chase. This one came on 4th down, deep in 49ers territory. With pressure approaching, he spun out of the pocket and rolled to his left. On the run, he found Chase in the back of the end zone.
The Bad:
– CB/PR, Darius Phillips
Philips had a rough game, to say the least. Needless to say, he doesn’t make it on this list for anything he did on the defensive side of the ball. Instead, it is for his two muffed punts. The two muffs resulted in 10 49er points, which can be pointed to as the difference in an overtime game.
– Everyone who covered George Kittle
George Kittle stomped all over the Bengals. They just had no answer for him, allowing him to turn 13 receptions into 151 yards and a TD. Obviously the LB’s deserve a lot of the blame. Pratt is a good LB in coverage, but was overmatched in this one. Bachie, meanwhile, is not so strong in coverage, and his limitations showed. Additionally, Ricardo Allen was tasked at times with covering Kittle, but like the other two, he had a hard time. Sometimes, all you can do is tip your cap to a great player. But letting him dominate to the extent he did is a tough pill to swallow, nevertheless.
– The OL
This was arguably the worst performance of the season from the Bengals OL. Everyone except Riley Reiff allowed at least three pressures, and Reiff exited the game early. Nick Bosa was a clear problem for the line, but the other members of their DL were also causing problems. Further, the problem could have been even worse had Joe Burrow not been able to work some magic.
In addition to pass protection, the run blocking was not great, as Joe Mixon struggled to find running room. Zac Taylor tried to stick to the running game, but it just didn’t work. Execution was poor.
– Zac Taylor
As bad as the on-field mistakes were, Zac Taylor’s decision making and play calling also hurt the team. He made two questionable decisions to kick a field goal in 4th & short situations, deep in 49ers territory. Then, in OT, he made the decision to hand the ball off twice in a row. This was at a time when they had just driven deep down the field thanks to Joe Burrow and the passing game. Taking the ball out of Burrow’s hands was not a good decision, especially with how San Francisco had been bottling up the run throughout the game.
