When the Cincinnati Bengals took the field on Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers, the AFC North title looked more attainable than it had been all season.
The injury-riddled Baltimore Ravens had just lost when the Bengals kicked off against San Francisco. With a win, the Bengals would be in first place, fully in control of their own destiny.
Then the Bengals played their worst three quarters of the season. In a 26-23 loss to the 49ers, the Bengals didn’t play like a playoff team, making the types of mistakes that can ruin a season.
Despite three quarters full of awful mistakes, the Bengals tied the score with 1:19 left in the fourth quarter on a deep touchdown throw from quarterback Joe Burrow to wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase. But in overtime, 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo leaned on All-Pro tight end George Kittle on the game-winning drive,
The Bengals couldn’t stop Kittle as San Francisco marched down the field, and then Garoppolo completed a game-winning 11-yard touchdown to wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk.
This time, the Bengals loss wasn’t a result of a fluke interception or a fumble by a running back who never loses the ball.
On Sunday, the Bengals wide receivers dropped potential first downs on some of the most important plays of the game. Punt returner Darius Phillips handed the 49ers 10 points with two muffed punts. Safety Vonn Bell committed the type of penalty that frustrates head coach Zac Taylor the most, a taunting penalty that gave San Francisco a first down.
Even though the 49ers currently have one of the worst groups of active cornerbacks in the NFL, the Bengals passing game didn’t find a rhythm before the 49ers pulled ahead. Instead, wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase swatted a potential first down catch to the turf and didn’t reel in a potential touchdown in the second quarter.
Wide receiver Tee Higgins made an impressive 20 yard catch early in the game, but it was his only target of the entire first half. While the 49ers defense prioritized the passing game, running back Joe Mixon averaged a staggeringly low 2.3 yards per carry in the first half.
The only standout moment by the 49ers offense was a 27-yard touchdown run by wide receiver Deebo Samuel. Due to Phillips’ muffed punts, the 49ers took a 17-6 lead into halftime.
While the special teams mistakes and the taunting penalty cost the Bengals most of the points they allowed in the first half, the conservative nature of the offense for the first three quarters kept the Bengals from getting back into the game earlier.
On the first drive of the second half, the Bengals ran the ball three straight times. When that didn’t result in a first down, the Bengals punted.
The Bengals waited until they were down 20-6 in the fourth quarter for the Bengals passing game to find a rhythm. On 4th down, Burrow made a miracle touchdown throw on the run to Chase in the end zone. Then with under two minutes left, Burrow tied the game with a 32-yard touchdown throw on a fade to Chase down the right sideline.
The Bengals settled for a field goal on the first possession of overtime, which gave the 49ers a chance at a game-winning touchdown. San Francisco delivered, and the Bengals fell all the way to third place in their division.
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