Did Beating the Bengals Prove the 49ers are Contenders?

CINCINNATI -- The 49ers just pulled off a clutch overtime win on the road against a potential playoff team. It was the kind of win that can propel the inconsistent 49ers to a Super Bowl, right? The moment their season came together?

Not so fast.

It was an important win, but the Bengals lost the game -- the 49ers didn't win it. The Bengals beat themselves, just like the 49ers beat themselves last week in Seattle. And the Bengals accomplished this with two muffed punts and a taunting penalty. These critical unforced errors determined the outcome of the game. And despite them, the Bengals climbed back from a two-score deficit to force overtime. Meanwhile, the 49ers offense scored just three points in the second half, and the team almost collapsed like it did in the Super Bowl two years ago.

But this time, they're weren't facing the Chiefs. They were facing the Bengals, a flawed team like the 49ers. Both are 7-6, and they struggled against each other.

Clearly, the Bengals are the more flawed team -- that's why they lost. They weren't ready for a meaningful game in December and the 49ers were. But they're young and they showed their potential when they pushed the game to overtime. They're one year away. Next season, they should be Super Bowl contenders.

Can we say that about the 49ers?

It's hard to say they're contenders this season, because they almost certainly will face the Packers or the Buccaneers on the road in the first round of the playoffs, and those teams are much better than Cincinnati.

And then next season, we don't even know who the starting quarterback will be or what the roster will look like. It could look much different. It could be transition year. So it's hard to say when the 49ers truly will become legit contenders.

Maybe 2023.