CINCINNATI — Each of the past two years, the Cincinnati Bengals have returned from their bye week to collect big road wins. They will look to do the same Sunday when they travel to play the San Francisco 49ers coming off a Week 7 bye week.
Cincinnati (3-3) has won two straight games and his hoping to continue its recent trend of success coming off bye weeks. The Bengals improved to 6-4 out of their Week 10 byes in 2021 and 2022 with a 32-13 win at Las Vegas last year and 37-30 win at Pittsburgh in 2021.
“I think it’s the character of our team,” Bengals coach Zac Taylor said. “They get a week off, they handle it the right way, they do the right things, they take care of their bodies, they mentally refresh knowing that we’ve got a gauntlet here of 11 games going down the stretch. So those guys come out of it fresh, ready to roll, thankful that they’re in it and they get to keep playing good football.”
The Bengals’ bye came at a good time to get healthy and have some extra time to prepare for a quality opponent. Despite the 49ers’ back-to-back losses at Cleveland and Minnesota, they are still one of the best teams in the league in many regards.
San Francisco (5-2) ranks second in the NFL in points scored (28.7 per game) and third in points allowed (15.6 per game). The 49ers are in the top half of every major statistical category, including netting the seventh most offensive yards (364.7 yards per game) with a balanced approach, and allowing the eighth fewest yards defensively (302.9 per game). They also are at a plus-6 turnover margin, which is tied for the second-best differential in league.
“They’re a really good football team whatever phase you want to talk about,” Taylor said. “Every little bit helps. They’ve been a team that’s been playing at a high level for several years now, been playing in a lot of championships, Super Bowls. It’s a great test for us.”
Being so familiar with the Browns’ strengths and weaknesses, the Bengals might have gleaned the most from watching what went well and what went wrong in San Francisco’s 19-17 loss at Cleveland on Sept. 15. Players were looking forward to watching the upcoming opponent on live TV on Monday, instead of just clips of a game the 49ers lost 22-17.
Minnesota took a 16-7 lead into halftime in stunning fashion with Jordan Addison ripping away a near interception on a deep pass from Kirk Cousins and hauling it in for a 60-yard touchdown with seven seconds left in the half. That proved to be the difference in the game.
The Vikings held Christian McCaffrey to 45 yards rushing and one touchdown on 15 carries, but he also added three catches for 51 yards, including a 20-yard touchdown reception. Brock Purdy finished with 272 yards passing and one touchdown with two interceptions. Tight end George Kittle was the leading receiver with 78 yards on five catches.
Wide receiver Deebo Samuel was out with a shoulder injury, and offensive tackle Trent Williams was out with an ankle injury.
Taylor said the defense will have to be ready for “everything” in Kyle Shanahan’s system.
“I think he’s creative,” Taylor said. “He does a little bit of everything, you know. For them, it really starts with the run game and everything matches that. They’ve got great play actions, they’ve got great screens, they’ve got great nakeds, really good shot plays that can put you in a tough bind. They’ve got really good players on top of that, so a scheme that’s very difficult to deal with and the players that can really bring it to life along with the coaching staff.”
McCaffrey leads the league with 598 yards rushing and eight touchdowns, and he’s got another 228 yards and three touchdowns on 26 catches. Purdy has completed 67.9 percent of his 193 passes for 1,668 yards and 11 touchdowns and has just three picks, despite two of them coming Monday.
Brandon Aiyuk is the team’s leading receiver with 511 yards and two touchdowns on 30 catches, Samuel adds 302 yards and one touchdown on 20 catches and Kittle has 294 yards and three touchdowns on 23 catches.
Defensively, defensive end Nick Bosa is a threat, though he has just 2.5 sacks so far. He also has 17 quarterback hits and could cause problems for Orlando Brown, or whomever is playing left tackle on Sunday. Drake Jackson and Javon Hargrave each have three sacks.
Linebacker Fred Warner and defensive backs Charvarius Ward, Deommodore Lenoir and Talanoa Hufanga each have two interceptions.
“They’re high-end players at all levels of the defense,” Taylor said. “… That’s one thing you see is all 11 playing together, totally in sync, great communication, play hard, play physical. they’re really intelligent, they get quickly to their checks, they do a good job diagnosing what the offense is doing. It’s a really impressive defense to watch on tape.”
SUNDAY’S GAME
Bengals at 49ers, 4:25 p.m., CBS, 700,1530, 102.7, 104.7