The Cincinnati Bengals have now ripped off three straight wins with the latest arguably the most impressive. Zac Taylor's club was able to travel across the country and upset the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium, 31-17.
It was a pristine day for Joe Burrow, who looks the healthiest he's been all season coming off of the Week 7 bye. He was sharp early and led the Bengals on back-to-back touchdown drives to build up an early lead and at one point completed a career-high 19 straight passes. He finished his day 28 of 32 passing for 283 yards and three touchdowns. The quarterback -- who had dealt with a calf injury dating to the summer -- was also spry with his legs, rushing for 43 yards on the day.
As for the 49ers, they have now dropped three consecutive games. It was a rare turnover-filled afternoon for Brock Purdy, who had two interceptions and a fumble. The last pick proved to be a key turning point in the loss as the Bengals were able to extend their lead to two scores immediately following his errant throw that was snagged by Logan Wilson. One play after that interception, Burrow connected with Ja'Marr Chase -- who had 10 catches for 100 yards in the win -- for a dagger 17-yard touchdown in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter.
Purdy completed 22 of his 31 passes for 365 yards, a touchdown, and two interceptions. He also rushed for 57 yards and had that lost fumble. George Kittle was his go-to target, catching nine of his 11 targets for 149 yards. Christian McCaffrey rushed for 54 yards and tied the NFL record with 17 consecutive games with a touchdown as he ran for a goal-line score in the first half, albeit in the losing effort.
For more on this game, check out our takeaways below.
Why the Bengals won
Cincinnati is starting to look like the team that we've come to know under Joe Burrow in recent seasons, and that's largely because the quarterback's health is moving in a positive direction in recent weeks. Coming off the bye, Burrow looks the healthiest he's been all season and was extremely efficient, completing 87.5% of his passes in the win. He had an answer for anything that the 49ers defense was throwing his way and picked the secondary apart. The offense also carried the baton nicely from the defense which was able to create several turnovers. While Burrow was easing his way down the field, the defense for Cincinnati is what really shined in the second half, forcing three key turnovers. The two interceptions were massive swings in the winning effort and kept San Francisco at an arm's length en route to the upset. The Bengals also played a rather clean game with just one penalty.
Why the 49ers lost
San Francisco seemed to lack energy at times in this game, particularly on offense. While the Bengals began this game with back-to-back scoring drives, the Niners sandwiched their lone touchdown drive of the first half with three-and-outs. That inability to string scoring drives together found themselves in a hole at the half, and then three second-half turnovers by Brock Purdy helped put the game away in favor of Cincinnati. Purdy's two interceptions were especially troubling because they either helped the Bengals put points off the board or took a scoring opportunity away for his offense. Defensively, the 49ers had trouble containing Joe Burrow, who seemed to pick them apart throughout the afternoon and never really seemed super disrupted even when he was sacked three times.
Turning point
The key swing was Purdy's interceptions, which came on back-to-back throws in the second half. The second-year quarterback had helped bring the Niners offense all the way to the Cincinnati 8-yard line when he rolled out to his right and tried to loft a pass to Elijah Mitchell for what would have been a touchdown and tied the game at 17 had they completed the play. However, Purdy's throw was a bit late, which allowed Bengals linebacker Germaine Pratt to tip the ball and pick it off, eliminating the scoring opportunity altogether.
On the the very next 49ers offensive possession, Purdy was again picked off by Logan Wilson, which gave the ball back to Cincinnati inside the red zone, which they cashed in on one play later with Burrow throwing a touchdown to Chase to go up by two scores.
Play of the game
This wasn't a herculean effort, but Christian McCaffrey's goal-line touchdown in the first quarter was historic. The 49ers running back tied former Baltimore Colts running back Lenny Moore for the all-time NFL record with 17 straight games with a touchdown (including playoffs). McCaffrey surpassed Hall of Famers John Riggins and O.J. Simpson last week and will have an opportunity to break the record in Week 10 when San Francisco travels down to Jacksonville for a game against the Jaguars.
What's next
From here, the Bengals will head back to Cincinnati and gear up for a "Sunday Night Football" matchup with the Buffalo Bills. As for the Niners, they'll be able to do some self-scouting while on the Week 9 bye.