Three Down Look: Bengals Fumble Chance at Division Lead in 26-23 Loss to 49ers

Cincinnati wouldn't be in the playoffs if the season ended today.

Author:
Russ Heltman
Publish date:
Dec 13, 2021 10:15 AM EST

One step forward in Cincinnati, then two steps back. A triumph here, a collapse there. The Bengals are who they are 13 games into the 2021 season.

A talented team that's made too many mistakes to maximize their potential.

Darius Phillips put that identity on full display with two back-breaking muffed punts to swing Sunday's game. He wasn't the only player that helped San Francisco excape with a win.

Here's our Three Down Look at a frustrating day at Paul Brown Stadium.

Different Uniforms, Same Defense

Great coaches take away the best option on opposing teams to make them play left-handed. That is especially important against a 49ers team with a clear top-option in George Kittle and a limited quarterback in Jimmy Garoppolo.

Cincinnati has been horrible defending tight ends for decades. They had no answer for Kittle's physicality, paired with Kyle Shanahan's scheme on Sunday. The tight end finished with 13 catches for 151 yards and one touchdown. Garoppolo targeted him on 15-of-41 attempts.

Bengals head coach Zac Taylor said they tried "everything" to slow down the All-Pro tight end. None of it worked, and Kittle decided to put together the greatest two-week showing from the tight end position in NFL history.

He's the first tight end to finish with 150 or more receiving yards and a touchdown in consecutive weeks.

The Niners game plan wasn't rocket science, and it was clear from kickoff. Destroy the middle of the field with Kittle and juice just enough from the run game to keep the Bengals' honest. Check and check.

It's never a good omen when two safeties each notch nine-plus tackles in one game. Vonn Bell (10) and Jessie Bates (9) led the team in stops on Sunday. Bates has made a lot of comments about getting paid, but he dropped the ball on what could've been a game-winning interception. Garoppolo gifted him a pick-six on the final drive of regulation, but Bates dropped the duck and missed out on a game-changing play, as he has done so often this season.

Coaching Kryptonite

At some point, mistakes stop being flukes—they become an identity. That's the only way to frame the Bengals 13 games into the 2021 season. Three seasons in, this coaching staff—particularly the head coach—is still treading water.

Taylor has one of the most predictable schemes in the NFL. The run-pass splits are easy to identify. When Burrow is under center expect a run; when they are in shotgun, expect a pass. Even when they did run from the shotgun on Sunday they were stonewalled.

An offensive line that hit its stride following the bye week deals with two injuries over the past two weeks and gives up 11 sacks in those games. The Bengals have been one of the healthiest teams in the league, yet here they stand at 7-6.

Taylor preached aggression and forward-thinking at the beginning of the year. Well, the Bengals ran the ball twice and took a sack on their final three offensive plays. They also went 1-for-2 on conservative field goal attempts. So much for the aggression.

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The Bengals are a paper tiger right now, and they need to lean into a philosophy soon because 45 games in there are still no clear mantras in the Taylor era.

Lunchpail Joe

Sunday, Monday, Thursday, it doesn't matter. Joe Burrow has been the most consistent part of this team in 2021, and he had one of his best performances on Sunday.

The second-year passer threw for 348 yards and two touchdowns, while averaging 10.2 yards per attempt. It was Burrow's second game this season with 340 or more passing yards, two or more touchdowns, and no interceptions. According to Stathead, that's happened just 19 times in Bengals history.

Burrow kept this team afloat and led a torrid fourth-quarter scoring stretch with a few dynamite throws. The highlight sequence was cemented by a moon ball to Tyler Boyd down the left sideline on their final drive of the fourth quarter. Then Burrow hit Ja'Marr Chase on a pure-backyard football touchdown to cement the comeback.

Sunday was a perfect example of a great San Francisco coaching staff lifting an average quarterback, paired against a lesser coaching staff with top-tier QB talent.

Whether it was the broken play to Chase or the insane flutter ball to Boyd, Burrow is showing up and punching the clock every week. If the rest of this franchise joins him, the AFC North is theirs for the taking over this final month.

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