49ers vs. Bengals: Week 14 position grades from nail-biting OT win

The 49ers took advantage of Bengals mistakes early in Week 14, then saw things collapse in the fourth quarter before pulling off an overtime victory.

In an ideal world, the San Francisco 49ers wouldn’t have to let an opponent get back into a game after building a 20-6 third-quarter lead and force overtime, then watch that lead go away when the Cincinnati Bengals kicked a go-ahead field goal in the extra frame, leading to quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo having to engineer a near-perfect go-ahead touchdown-scoring drive to finally pull off the 26-23 overtime win.

Not easy at all. Especially after Cincy had a run of 14 unanswered points after halftime.

Still, the Niners won. And more importantly, they made fewer mistakes than Cincinnati and took more advantage of the ones the Bengals did make, which proved to be vital despite Week 14 truly being a tale of two entirely different halves.

Things probably would have been a lot different if San Francisco was still without wide receiver Deebo Samuel, who helped the 49ers get out to their early lead with a 27-yard rushing touchdown that made it 10-3.

But it wasn’t just Samuel who had to step up big during the game, especially late. In fact, wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk’s game-winning touchdown in overtime might be one of the biggest clutch plays the Niners have enjoyed this season.

Great for Aiyuk, and that lone effort spared San Francisco from having to endure yet another lengthy list of disappointing positional grades after a game it could have won but lost.

Instead, the 49ers pulled off a win in a game they easily could have lost. We’ll take that.

49ers offensive grades vs. Bengals

The Niners were mostly outplayed, offensively, by quarterback Joe Burrow and the Bengals, and there were a number of mistakes that could have gone far worse for San Francisco.

Still, after starting 0-of-6 on third-down tries, head coach Kyle Shanahan’s offense managed to right things a little bit by finishing 5-of-15 and, most importantly, not turning the ball over en route to 355 yards and an average of 5.1 yards per play.

While he made his mistakes, too, Jimmy Garoppolo was a key reason why there was success.

Quarterback: B

It was far from perfect, and a near Bengals interception in the fourth quarter could have been returned for a game-winning pick-six touchdown, except Cincy’s defender dropped it.

One bad play from Garoppolo. Fortunately, he made up for it in other areas, particularly by being perfect in overtime to help Brandon Aiyuk secure the game-winning score.

Overall, Garoppolo went 27-of-41 for 296 yards, two touchdowns without an interception, all for a passer rating of 103.3.

Running Back: B

The 49ers were shorthanded at running back with Elijah Mitchell out with a concussion, so it’s admirable enough to see reserve tailback Jeff Wilson Jr. produce in some key moments, including back-to-back 10-yard runs for a first down to help drive the clock down in the fourth quarter.

In total, Wilson rushed 13 times for 56 yards and averaged 4.3 yards per carry, while fellow runner JaMycal Hasty got involved in the receiving game with three catches for 10 yards.

Not bad at all from a makeshift unit.

Wide Receiver: A

Two things: Deebo Samuel is an all-purpose tool, and Brandon Aiyuk is developing his “clutch” abilities.

Samuel only had one catch for 22 yards, but his 37 yards and a touchdown on eight rushing attempts once again proved just how valuable he is to the Niners offense even if he’s not a receiving leader in any particular game.

Read More: Deebo Samuel makes immediate impact in return vs. Bengals

Still, the key score was from Aiyuk, of course, and that helped make up for San Francisco’s defensive collapse in the fourth quarter:

The 49ers have been on the wrong side of plenty of those late scores, including many this season, so Aiyuk’s touchdown sure has to feel nice.

Tight End: A+

Make that a second game from tight end George Kittle where he takes over from the offensive vantage point.

Kittle had a circus-like leaping catch that could have set up a game-winning field goal before regulation expired, one of his 13 receptions for 151 yards with a touchdown. And while that end result was frustrating at the time, it’s sure good to see Kittle back at being a focal point of the offense’s passing attack again with back-to-back exceptional outings in Weeks 13 and 14.

That touchdown also set a single-season career-best mark of six touchdowns.

Offensive Line: C-

On one hand, Garoppolo taking five sacks is less than ideal, and right tackle Tom Compton continues to be a liability.

Garoppolo didn’t always respond to the pressure, though, so arguably three of those sacks can solely fall on the lack of production on the offensive line. Still, there were plenty of moments, particularly on that overtime game-winning drive, where the offensive line gave Jimmy G plenty of time in the pocket.

And while the run game faced a solid challenge against a good Bengals defense, averaging 4.3 yards per carry on the ground was solid, too.

It wasn’t the prettiest of outings from the O-line but effective enough, and that’s what counts.

49ers defensive grades vs. Bengals

The Niners defense during the first half was certainly solid, and then things changed late in the third quarter and especially in the fourth.

To be fair, San Francisco was starting a rookie cornerback, Ambry Thomas, in place of the injured Emmanuel Moseley and without Dontae Johnson, whose mother just passed away because of a heart attack, news of such released just after the game.

So, some massive bumps in the road were to be expected, and the 49ers ultimately gave up 397 all-purpose yards.

Defensive Line: A

If the Niners had trouble protecting Jimmy Garoppolo, Cincinnati sure had issues protecting Joe Burrow, which lead to the second-year quarterback getting sacked five times, too, with EDGE Nick Bosa picking up two of those to increase his season total to 14.

Depth EDGEs Arden Key and Samson Ebukam each split a sack, which helped matters, too, and San Francisco also held running back Joe Mixon and a potent Cincy rushing attack to an average of just 3.3 yards per carry.

San Francisco lost this game if its defensive line didn’t play as well as it did.

Linebacker: B+

All-Pro linebacker Fred Warner is still one of the best in the league and had seven tackles during the game, yet 2021 has been about the emergence of third-year pro Azeez Al-Shaair, who unfortunately left the game due to an injury but not before recording 11 tackles, a sack, three tackles for a loss and a pass broken up.

The 49ers better hope Al-Shaair returns soon. He’s been a difference-maker.

Secondary: D-

One almost has to grade on a curve with regards to this unit, which started off strong enough to limit the Bengals’ dangerous wide receiver trio of Tee Higgins, Tyler Boyd and Ja’Marr Chase.

Those three didn’t get going early, fortunately, but the second half proved to be a problem when Cincinnati began to find the holes in a primarily zone-style of defense to account for Thomas and, later in the game, fellow rookie corner Deommodore Lenoir.

Thomas was beat multiple times in the game, one that went for a touchdown and another that was barely ruled incomplete, and he was also flagged twice for illegal hands to the face, wiping out another Bosa sack and a would-be pick by safety Jimmie Ward.

Additionally, Chase beat safety Talanoa Hufanga for another touchdown in the fourth quarter.

Chase had two scores and 77 yards, while Higgins led the Bengals with 114 yards on five receptions.

It could have been much, much worse, however.

49ers special teams, coaching grades vs. Bengals

A week after special teams doomed the Niners against the Seattle Seahawks, it was refreshing to see coordinator Richard Hightower’s unit be on the right side of various plays in Week 14.

Mostly.

Granted, Cincy made some of its own mistakes, muffing two punt-return attempts San Francisco was able to recover and turn into points. All too often, though, the 49ers have been on the wrong side of those as well.

Special Teams: B-

Recovering those two muffed punts was key for the Niners, and it helped set the tone early in what was a dominant first half by San Francisco.

And if anything else had changed, the 49ers would be talking about a loss, so there’s that to consider.

It wasn’t all good, though, as the Niners watched kicker Robbie Gould miss what could have been a game-winning field goal at the end of regulation, that would have spared the nervousness associated with any overtime bout. In total, Gould was 2-of-3 on his field-goal tries, but those clutch ones are supposed to be made.

At least San Francisco didn’t give up any fake-punt touchdowns or muff any of its own returns, though, so that’s a boost.

Coaching: B-

Again, something of a curved grade here, as defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans had to make up for the absence of two veteran cornerbacks and was forced to start Ambry Thomas.

A predominantly zone-coverage scheme worked early, but there wasn’t a lot of ways to stray from it late in the fourth quarter and into overtime. The few times Ryans removed safety help from over the top, Thomas looked to be beat.

On the flip side, though, Ryans’ job wasn’t made that much easier by Kyle Shanahan’s offense falling flat after a third-quarter field goal. While execution surely falls upon the players’ shoulders, Shanahan is also partially responsible for ensuring his side of the ball retains some momentum.

Particularly down the stretch of any game. The 49ers got lucky in that regard, as Cincinnati had almost all of it in the fourth quarter and early in overtime.

Still, Shanahan’s play-calling in the extra frame was spot on, and that sure helped drive the Niners’ victory, as well as getting back above the .500 mark after this tough, crucial Week 14 bout.