4 simple reasons why 49ers beat Bengals in Week 14

The 49ers managed to pull off a thrilling yet nerve-wracking 26-23 overtime win over the Bengals in Week 14, and here’s why in very simple terms.

Let’s not get too overly analytical here. The San Francisco 49ers beat the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 14 because they scored more points than the opponent.

Granted, it took getting out to a 20-6 lead, then it required staving off an overtime touchdown before requiring a subsequent game-winning touchdown drive to seal the 26-23 victory in the extra frame.

Plus a little bit of luck, too.

There are going to be those who overanalyze and overthink just how the Niners pulled off this win when there were plenty of chances for them to snatch defeat out of the jaws of victory.

But let’s simplify things as best we can and point out the four biggest reasons why San Francisco managed the victory without getting overly complex or analytical.

No. 4: 49ers took advantage of Bengals mistakes

Good teams rarely beat themselves. Average teams sometimes will.

Both the 49ers and Bengals are likely leaning more towards the latter category, as evidenced by the Niners’ turnover-prone loss to the Seattle Seahawks in Week 13.

Fortunately and luckily, San Francisco didn’t commit those kinds of mistakes in Week 14 and instead let Cincy do that sort of thing. Cincinnati committed two turnovers, both muffed punt-return attempts in the first half, both of which the 49ers recovered.

Subsequently, the Niners were able to score a total of 10 points off those two turnovers while keeping quarterback Joe Burrow and a potent Bengals offense off the field just a little while longer.

San Francisco let Cincy make the mistakes, then capitalized off of them.