The 49ers escaped with a victory over the Cincinnati Bengals after a fourth-quarter surge by Cincinnati. According to FiveThirtyEight, San Francisco improves to 4-0 in Eastern Time Zone games, and head coach Kyle Shanahan’s playoff hopes improve to 76%.
We look at my five takeaways below.
Niners defense doesn’t bend in the first half, breaks late in the game
San Francisco’s defense has forced a three-and-out or turnover on opposing offensive drives to start the game in each of their last five games. DeMeco Ryans’ defense did not allow a touchdown in the first half (saved by a Ja’Marr Chase drop in the 2nd quarter).