Meet the Bengals' Enemy: 5 questions about the 49ers
Intrigue has certainly increased this week for the Cincinnati Bengals' Week 8 matchup against the San Francisco 49ers. Neither team is exactly where they want to be at the moment, and injuries to notable players for San Fran have created uncertainty as to what 49ers team we will see facing the Bengals in Levi's Stadium. […]
Intrigue has certainly increased this week for the Cincinnati Bengals' Week 8 matchup against the San Francisco 49ers.
Neither team is exactly where they want to be at the moment, and injuries to notable players for San Fran have created uncertainty as to what 49ers team we will see facing the Bengals in Levi's Stadium.
We could use some answers right about now, so we turned to A to Z Sports 49ers beat writer Nicholas McGee to see what's going on in the Bay Area.
JS: First it was gonna be can Brock Purdy bounce back in a place he's never lost before. Now it's all about if he can even play or not. If he doesn't, what did you see from Sam Darnold during the preseason that grants you confidence?
NM: What gives me confidence is how quickly at ease he looked in the offense. He made the deep outside the numbers throws that we know he can produce, but he also did an excellent job on the staple Shanahan throws to the short and intermediate areas. He was decisive and delivered under pressure. Whether that translates to a regular-season game is another matter, but it stands to reason he should be able to perform well playing with the supporting cast he has around him. I’ll feel even better if Trent Williams is active.
JS: Perhaps if you play fantasy football you may think George Kittle is overrated, but Zac Taylor and Bengals fans know exactly how good he is. Was he simply more involved vs. the Vikings due to Deebo Samuel's injury, or is it really just a week-by-week mystery?
NM: I think it’s a week to week mystery at this point. He’s so important to the blocking game that it’s very difficult to predict when he’ll see substantial targets. With Williams expected to play, he might not be required as much to provide pass protection help, so we should see a continuation of the target share he received against Minnesota.
JS: Put the 49ers' offensive line without Trent Williams in one of these five categories: Great, Good, Average, Not Good, Terrible. How much of an impact does he make?
NM: Not good. His stand-in Jaylon Moore played pretty well, albeit with a lot of help. Kyle Shanahan said he didn’t feel like the OL was the problem against Minnesota, but I have to disagree. Right tackle Colton McKivitz struggled mightily in pass protection and the interior o-line, which has been largely solid, had an off night. They were bullied in the run game, which you can attribute to the Vikings 6-man front, but the reality is that when you take Williams out of the equation it’s a really shaky looking group.
JS: Nick Bosa's 2.5 sacks don't fool me, he's still third in the league in pass rush win rate. Aside from sacks being misleading, what can you tell us about the season Joe Burrow's good friend is having?
NM: You get the sense he’s still searching for that DPOY form. He’s winning a lot with power rushes, which are his forte, but he admitted himself this week that he’s still working through some stuff he missed the chance to practice during his holdout. He’s still by far the most dominant pass rusher the Niners have, but that extra 1% has been a little lacking. It’s not all on him, though, and his six pressures against Minnesota would have been more impactful had the interior pass rush not had by far its worst game of the year.
JS: With or without Purdy I can honestly say I have no idea how this game will turn out. What's your prediction?
NM: I would be very fearful if this game was on the road, but the 49ers have been excellent at home and I feel like this is a game where that advantage gets them back on track. I’ll take the Niners by a touchdown with the defense answering some critics with a late stop.
Bengals’ Zac Taylor shouts out special connection with 49ers TE George Kittle
Taylor’s respect for Kittle goes back to before the four-time Pro Bowler was an NFL star.
