Week 14 Post Match Review: 49ers at Bengals

By Scooter_McG 

The 49ers scraped home against the Bengals in overtime, with a walk-off TD pass from Jimmy Garoppolo to Brandon Aiyuk sealing a nail-biter. The game was a lot closer than it had any right to be, but the Bengals shook off a torrid and mistake-filled first half while the 49ers offense slumbered in the second.

In the end though it is the result that matters. The 49ers beat a team with a record above .500 for just the second time this season, and it lifts them to a 7-6 record and a one game buffer in the race for the 6th seed in the NFC. The win was especially vital for a 49ers team that lost embarrassingly last week to the Seahawks, and had some key players out injured, as well as others that were playing through injury. 

Here's what stood out to me.

Turnovers prove the difference

Whoever said it is better to give than receive was clearly not talking about a game of football. The Bengals took a leaf out of the 49ers 2021 playbook and gifted the 49ers the ball deep in their own territory on two occasions in the first half through muffed punt returns. The 49ers would convert those mistakes into 10 valuable first half points. A good thing, too, as outside of those short fields the 49ers only had one drive of note in the first half, which was capped by a Deebo Samuel 27 yard scamper for a TD around the right edge (which was well blocked by Kittle and Compton). 

Aside from those muffed punt returns, the Bengals had some other near misses in the first half too that were saved by the bounce of the ball, as well as an INT called back due to a hands to the face call that likely didn't impact the play, some key drops (including one on a would be TD to Chase), and a lucky non-call on what should have been DPI on Kittle deep downfield. It was an error-ridden first half by the Bengals that gave the 49ers control of the game despite not really earning it. 

Second half blues

The 49ers looked to be in complete control of the game at half time, leading 17-6 at the break. But for a second straight week the 49ers offense struggled to get anything going in the second stanza while the defense had issues containing the Bengals through the air. The Bengals were able to get back into the game and level the scores at 20 a piece late in the 4th quarter to send it to extra time.   

While it didn't prove costly in this one, the inability to put a game away, as well as going long stretches where they let the opposition dominate a game, is something that has plagued the 49ers for much of the 2021 season. The 49ers have to do a better job of playing 60 minutes of football, in all phases.

Clutch Jimmy

It may not have been a Good Jimmy performance per se, in fact Jimmy G and the 49ers offense struggled to get much going for most of the game. That wasn't all on Jimmy though - the running game was bottled up for the most part bar for a few chunk runs which put them in 3rd and long situations often. Nor was it a Bad Jimmy performance - he avoided turnovers and came up with some nice passes throughout the game. In fact Jimmy was quite good on first down in this game, it was the ability to convert third and longs that let the team down (again, not all on Jimmy as the pass protection failed to hold up a number of times too). 

It was, however, a Clutch Jimmy performance. After the Bengals locked the scores up at 20-20, Jimmy drove the 49ers downfield into Bengals territory to give Robbie Gould a shot to be the hero. The drive included a 19 yard George Kittle catch on 3rd and long to get them in FG range. Unfortunately for Jimmy and the 49ers, Gould's attempt sailed wide right.

Then after the Bengals scored a FG on the opening drive of OT, Jimmy G marched the 49ers 75 yards for the TD, most of which came from his arm as he completed all six of his passes for 78 yards and the TD (Kittle had a false start early in the drive). The pass along the right sideline to Jauan Jennings was impressive, as he trusted his receiver to make the contested play but also put it where the defender didn't have much of a shot at it. 

The People's Tight End

George Kittle proved again why he is the most dynamic TE in the league. He may not be putting up numbers like a Travis Kelce over the course of the season, but his ability to take over a game and make big plays is second to none from the TE spot. Today Kittle had 13 catches for 151 yards and a TD, including a number of big plays in critical moments. Add that to his ability in the running game and there is no other TE I'd rather have when healthy.

Secondary woes

The loss of Emmanuel Moseley may prove costly for the 49ers. Ambry Thomas made the start in his place this week, and to say he looked shaky would be generous. He was responsible for the hands to the face call in the first half that cost Ward his third INT of the season. He didn't learn from his mistake as he was flagged for the same infringement later taking a sack away from Bosa. Both of the Bengals TDs came on his side of the field, one of which definitely was against his coverage (with another he got away with due to a Chase drop). And he consistently failed to get correct depth in zone, leaving spaces wide open behind him.  

Ryans tried to help him out as much as possible with safety help over the top, but as a result it left the middle of the field exposed which the Bengals started to take advantage of in the second half. 

This performance made it pretty clear why Thomas has struggled to see the field as a rookie - he still has a lot of learning to do and leaving him out there runs a very real risk of ruining him. 

Big picture

This may not have been a must win match for the 49ers given the state of the NFC, but it certainly was an important one from the point of view of strengthening the 49ers hold on a playoff spot. Heading into the 49ers game there were five teams sitting on 6 wins and 7 losses, and had the 49ers lost the 49ers would have made it six, with those teams vying for two playoff spots. 

Instead the 49ers find themselves as the lone 7 win and 6 loss team in the NFC, giving them a one game lead over their rivals for the 6th seed. 

Of course, this win just makes the loss to the Seahawks all the more frustrating in a way - with the Rams playing the number one seed Cardinals on Monday there is a very real chance the 49ers could have been tied with the Rams by the end of the week's games had they taken care of business last week.