49ers vs. Bengals Week 8 Live Blog

SANTA CLARA -- This is the live blog of the 49ers' Week 8 home game against the Cincinnati Bengals. I will update this frequently with information and analysis from the press box.

11:58 Here are the 49ers inactives: Trent Williams, Deebo Samuel, Ty Davis-Price, Brayden Willis, Jalen Graham, Kalia Davis and Brandon Allen.

12:00 The 49ers are four-point favorites over the Bengals despite not having Trent Williams and Deebo Samuel. I'm guessing the oddsmakers favor the 49ers because they're at home and the Bengals have been shaky all season -- they're 3-3. Their offense ranks 32nd out of 32 teams in yards gained and 28th in points scored. But they've won two games in a row. Last week, they beat the Seahawks, who are a good team. And they have an elite quarterback (Joe Burrow) and an elite wide receiver (Ja'Marr Chase). Last week, the 49ers let Kirk Cousins and Jordan Addison, neither of whom are elite, carve them up. So the 49ers defense has a big challenge today. On offense, the 49ers will have a tough time working around the loss of Trent Williams. He's one of the greatest left tackles of all time, and his backup, Jaylon Moore, is a liability. So Kyle Shanahan will have to alter his play calling and find ways to get the ball out of Brock Purdy's hands extremely fast. Usually, Shanahan would get the ball to Deebo Samuel and let him break tackles, but he's out, too. I think the 49ers offense will struggle in this game and the 49ers will lose by a field goal.

1:24 The 49ers will receive the opening kickoff.

FIRST QUARTER

1:28 The 49ers run three times and go three and out. I wonder if Kyle Shanahan really trusts Brock Purdy coming off a concussion. After the punt, the Bengals take over at their 15.

1:37 On 2nd and goal from the 7, Isaiah Oliver gives up a touchdown catch to Tyler Boyd. The 49ers should have gotten off the field on 3rd and 10 in Cincinnati's territory, but Arik Armstead and Nick Bosa both whiffed on a sack which allowed Joe Burrow to throw a first-down pass. In addition, Charvarius Ward committed a defensive holding on the play, which would have given the Bengals an automatic first down if they hadn't picked it up themselves. Terrible series for the 49ers defense, which continues to struggle.

49ers 0, Bengals 7.

1:46 On 1st and goal from the 2, Christian McCaffrey rushes into the end zone and scores a touchdown for the 17th straight game, which ties an NFL record. Brock Purdy was excellent on that drive. He scrambled for 16 yards on 3rd and 8, then scrambled out of the pocket to his right and hit Brandon Aiyuk for a 31-yard gain on the next play. Now let's see if the 49ers defense can generate any pressure on Burrow.

49ers 7, Bengals 7.

1:55 On 1st and goal from the 2, Javon Kinlaw jumps offside, Charvarius Ward commits his second holding penalty of the game and still gives up a touchdown catch to Andrei Iosivas. Suddenly, the 49ers defense is absolutely horrible. Charvarius Ward is a penalty waiting to happen, Nick Bosa makes no impact and Steve Wilks has zero answers. That drive was way too easy.

49ers 7, Bengals 14.

SECOND QUARTER

2:03 On 3rd and 6 from the 49ers 18, Brock Purdy nearly gets intercepted by Logan Wilson, and the 49ers go 3 and out. Bengals edge rusher Trey Hendrickson was injured during that series. After the punt, the Bengals take over at their 20. Let's if the 49ers' swiss-cheese defense can stop Cincinnati.

2:15 On 3rd and 7 from the 49ers 25, Arik Armstead sacks Burrow for a loss of 8. That's something you don't see from Armstead every week. Then the Bengals miss a 50-yard field goal wide right. Huge play by Armstead. The 49ers take over at the Cincinnati 40.

2:24 On 3rd and 15 from the Bengals 28, Brock Purdy scrambles for 12 yards. He's doing a great job of gashing man-to-man coverage with his legs. Next play, Jake Moody makes a 36-yard field goal.

49ers 10, Bengals 14.

2:40 On 1st and goal from the 3, Clelin Ferrell strips the ball from Irv Smith Jr. and Isaiah Oliver recovers at the 49ers 5-yard line with 31 seconds left. What an incredibly huge play.

2:41 On 1st and 10 from the 5, Purdy completes a 34-yard pass to George Kittle up the seam. The 49ers take their final timeout with 24 seconds left.

2:44 McCaffrey runs for 16 yards and the half ends. The 49ers are lucky to be down by only four. The Bengals have missed a field goal and turned the ball over inside the 5. They will get the ball when the second half begins.

THIRD QUARTER

3:03 On 2nd and 9 from the 49ers 39, Arik Armstead records his second sack of the game and once again pushes the Bengals to the edge of field goal range. But this time, they make a 56-yarder. Steve Wilks made an adjustment and started calling press-man coverage with 8 in the box. This was a good adjustment. Still, the 49ers let Burrow scramble for a 20-yard gain. Can't happen.

49ers 10, Bengals 17.

3:11 On 3rd and 7 from the Bengals 48, George Kittle drops a first-down pass over the middle. Purdy threw it high and hard but Kittle should have caught it. He caught a 32-yard pass earlier in the drive. For the third game in a row, Kyle Shanahan is getting outcoached. After the punt, the Bengals take over at their 19 after a terrible 29-yard punt by Mitch Wishnowsky.

3:17 On 3rd and 13 from the Bengals 16, the 49ers tackle Irv Smith Jr. after a gain of 11, and the Bengals go 3 and out. Steve Wilks' halftime adjustment of playing press-man coverage with 8 in the box is paying off. After the punt, the 49ers take over at their 25.

3:28 On 1st and goal from the 8, Brock Purdy rolls to his right and throws an interception to Germaine Pratt who was standing right in front of him. Wow. That was horrendous. Purdy has scrambled well in this game but his passer rating is 77.6 and he has thrown four picks and just two TD passes in the 49ers' past three games.

FOURTH QUARTER

3:35 On 3rd and 7 from the 49ers' 45, Chase drops a pass over the middle, and the Bengals go 3 and out again. The 49ers defense gave up 20 first downs in the first half, but only 3 so far in the second half. Excellent adjustments by Wilks. After the punt, the 49ers take over at their 20.

3:41 First play of the drive, Brock Purdy throws a pick right to linebacker Logan Wilson. And just like that, the clock has struck midnight on the Brock Purdy Cinderella story.

3:41 First play of the Bengals drive, Isaiah Oliver gives up a touchdown catch to Chase. Now it's a two-score game.

49ers 10, Bengals 24.

3:52 On 1st and goal from the 4, Purdy scrambles to his right and throws back across the field to Christian McCaffrey for a touchdown. Beautiful drive by Purdy who needed that to keep the 49ers in the game and to keep his job.

49ers 17, Bengals 24.

4:04 On 2nd and goal from the 5, Nick Bosa lets Joe Mixon run around him for the touchdown. The 49ers will lose. Stay tuned for their grades.