The Bengals are coming off their bye, while the 49ers have dropped two straight on the road and seek to get back on track at home. San Francisco won the last meeting 26-23 in overtime despite Ja’Marr Chase catching two touchdown passes in the fourth quarter to help the Bengals rally from a 20-6 deficit. Cincinnati is 12-3 after the bye the past two seasons with victories in the first game back in action both times.
Here are five things to know about the game:
1. Quarterback question
Niners quarterback Brock Purdy went into concussion protocols after experiencing symptoms on the plane ride back from Monday night’s game at Minnesota, but he was back to full participation in practice Friday and coach Kyle Shanahan expected him to be available Sunday.
Purdy still needed to pass the last set of tests to be cleared, so he officially was listed as questionable on the availability report, and backup quarterback Sam Darnold has been preparing for his first start of the season.
Darnold spent the previous two seasons with Carolina, finishing the 2022 campaign as the starter for the final six games. He did not play in the Panthers’ Week 9 game against the Bengals, but he’s played one game against them in 2019 with the Jets, a 22-6 win for Cincinnati. Darnold threw for 239 yards that day.
“It’s no different,” Bengals cornerback Mike Hilton said of preparing for both quarterbacks. “Sam Darnold has been a starter around the league, and he’s played for them for a year and a half, so he knows the system and it will be no different. We just have to go out and execute our job.”
2. Stopping McCaffrey
The Bengals are facing another good running team Sunday, as Christian McCaffrey leads the league with 598 yards rushing and eight touchdowns, but he’ll be a different kind of challenge. McCaffrey is one of the league’s best pass catchers out of the backfield too, and he’s already got 228 yards and three touchdowns on 26 catches through seven games, so Cincinnati’s defense will have to stay on toes.
“One of the most elusive guys in the league,” Hilton said. “Great out of the backfield catching it, and he’s someone we know they are going to lean on. We know they are going to give him the ball early. We’ve just got to turn them around.”
Cincinnati’s run defense is one of the worst in the league, allowing 142.8 rushing yards per game, but the Bengals have allowed just 11 touchdowns in 18 redzone situations, which ranks tied for ninth in the NFL, and there have been five no-score results among those. They have surrendered 212.5 yards per game through the air, which is 13th best in the league.
3. Getting the offense going
Joe Burrow had the Bengals offense firing the first two drives in Week 6 against Seattle, as they scored touchdowns on both possessions, but Cincinnati managed just three points the rest of the way and just 62 yards of offense in the second half.
Taylor is hoping the bye week did the Bengals some good allowing players like Tee Higgins (rib), Burrow (calf) and left tackle Orlando Brown Jr. (groin) extra time to recover and come back fresh. Burrow now feeling 100 percent allows the offense to open up the playbook a little more and do some different things to be less predictable.
Offensive coordinator Brian Callahan said the Bengals would do some under-center plays, which should also help make the running game more effective, and Burrow’s increased mobility allows for more creativity on third down and in the redzone. Cincinnati has been in the redzone 13 times and only has seven touchdowns.
“You can scheme up plays all you want, but defenses are really good and know how to take away what you’re trying to do,” Burrow said. “When your backs are against the wall in those kinds of situations, you have to be able to extend and make plays and I’ve been able to do a little bit of that the last couple of weeks. Before that, not really. So I’m excited to get back to making plays outside the pocket. And run for first downs. That’s how I like to play and that’s how we’re going to play going forward.”
4. Facing elite defenders
San Francisco features the highest paid defender in the league with defensive end Nick Bosa earning a big contract extension after an 18.5-sack season and Associated Press Defensive Player of the Year nod in 2022. However, after a slow start for the pass rushers, the 49ers have leaned on standout play from Fred Warner, one of the best linebackers in the game, and the Bengals will have to be aware of both elite defenders.
Shanahan told reporters this week he thought the pass rush wasn’t as productive through the first seven games because the coverage on the back end hasn’t been consistent enough. The Vikings took advantage of that Monday with some explosive plays like Kirk Cousins’ 60-yard pass to Jordan Addison right at the end of the first half.
Bosa has just 2.5 sacks but accounts for 17 quarterback hits. If the defensive backs are doing their jobs, that buys him and the other pass rushers more time to finish sacks. San Francisco’s defense is the third best in terms of points allowed, though, and seventh in total yards surrendered. Warner, a two-time Pro Bowler, plays a big role in that, as he is all over the field on defense. He has 61 tackles, two interceptions and 2.0 sacks.
“(I) don’t want to compare them to other guys, but he’s outstanding in their defense,” Taylor said. “He makes an impact on every single play he’s in there, and plays really hard, plays really smart. And again, one of the top backers the game. There’s no doubt about it.”
5. Injury reports
Orlando Brown was limited the first two days of practice this week as he continued to recover from his groin injury, but he was full-go Friday and not even listed as questionable, meaning the Bengals’ injury report was mostly clean. Unfortunately for rookie running back Chase Brown, he tweaked his hamstring in practice Thursday and is out. Akeem Davis-Gaither also remains out with his knee injury.
In addition to Purdy being questionable, the 49ers will be without wide receiver Deebo Samuel (shoulder) and might not have left tackle Trent Williams. Williams remains questionable with an ankle injury that kept him out of practices this week.
SUNDAY’S GAME
Bengals at 49ers, 4:25 p.m., CBS, 700, 1530, 102.7, 104.7
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