Week 8 - After never enduring a single loss during the regular season a year ago after taking over the reigns of the Niners' starting quarterback position in Week 14, Brock Purdy entered Sunday's Week 8 tilt versus a rejuvenated Cincinnati Bengals team that had won back to back games after getting off to a slow 2-3 start. With their own week 9 bye on the horizon, the sluggish 49ers who are limping to the break, faced a team coming off the bye week for a second consecutive week. With an extra week to prepare for their opponent, Joe Burrow and the Bengals offense looked the part and came out guns blazing, leaving much to desire from the San Francisco defense that hasn't looked like their normal self in each of the last two weeks after dominating their opponents through the first five weeks of the season. Despite their recent struggles and two-game skid, Brock Purdy who was cleared to play on Saturday after being in the league's concussion protocol as recent as Wednesday, still entered Sunday's game with a perfect record of 8-0 at home in his career. His perfect track record at home would be in jeopardy on Sunday, as was San Francisco's 11-game home winning streak which dates back to their last loss at home over a year ago on October 23, 2022 versus Kansas City.
Winning the coin-toss and electing to defer, the Cincinnati defense sniffed out a rush attempt by the 49ers fullback on 3rd and 1, forcing a three and out punt on San Francisco's opening-drive. Equally as impressive was the Bengals offense which marched 80-yards on 12-plays before finding the end zone for an early lead, marking their third consecutive game with an opening-drive touchdown for the first time since 2016. Answering quickly with a score of their own, Purdy connected on a 31-yard pass to receiver Brandon Aiyuk before running back Christian McCaffrey tied the game at 7-all with a 2-yard rushing touchdown. With his 17th consecutive game with a touchdown (including playoffs), McCaffrey tied Baltimore Colts Hall of Famer Lenny Moore for the longest touchdown streak in NFL history. Cincy's Joe Burrow would tally an impressive streak of his own by opening the game with a career-best 18 consecutive completions, including a pass on the final play of the 1st quarter for a 2-yard touchdown to rookie receiver Andrei Iosivas. The Bengals would look to add a field goal to their lead one possession later, but kicker Evan McPherson missed wide-right from 50-yards out, keeping it a one-score game.
On the other end, the 49ers inched closer with a field goal from Jake Moody on San Francisco's ensuing possession. The 49er defense would get an even bigger break during Cincinnati's next drive which spanned 10-plays for 71-yards and appeared destined for the end zone before going up in flames on a fumble inside the 5-yard line by tight-end Irv Smith as Clelin Ferrell forced the turnover. San Francisco would try to get within field goal range before the half, but with 31-seconds on the clock and no timeouts to work with, they would run out of time to try to clock the ball in hopes of giving their kicker a chance. The Bengals would add a field goal to open the second half thanks to the legs of quarterback Joe Burrow who finished Sunday's game with more rushing yards against San Francisco (43) than he had in the team's first six games this season combined, showing that his once injured calf is doing just fine. Purdy would also have a strong day on the ground, finishing with a career-high 57 rushing yards on 6 carries, besting McCaffrey by 3-yards. After a 12-yard run got the 49ers inside the red zone, San Francisco looked like they were going to tie the game before a nonchalant pass intended for backup running back Elijah Mitchell was picked off.
Unable to do anything with the turnover, the Bengals were held to a punt. San Francisco would not be so fortunate on their next possession, however, as Purdy was intercepted again on his very next pass attempt, giving him two interceptions in as many passes and his first career game at home with multiple interceptions. Burrow and company would capitalize, needing only one play as the Bengals signal-caller hit Ja'Marr Chase for a 17-yard touchdown reception. Purdy and the Niners would answer with a touchdown of their own as Christian McCaffrey added a 4-yard receiving touchdown to his productive day, giving him 14 career games with a rushing and receiving touchdown in the same game, 2nd all-time to Marshall Faulk's record of 15 such games. Trailing by a touchdown and in need of stop, the 49er defense was unable to contain Bengals running back Joe Mixon who added a devastating 9-yard touchdown run to put the 49ers out of their misery. One final last-ditch effort by Purdy would go sideways when he was sacked and stripped of the ball to put the final nail in the coffin as the Niners fell 31-17 for their third straight loss.
Joe Burrow who entered Sunday 3-0 against the NFC West this season, completed the sweep of the division by throwing for 283 yards and 3 touchdowns. Brock Purdy tallied 365 yards and 1 touchdown, but his fumble and two interceptions would prove to be costly. Christian McCaffrey added a pair of touchdowns to give him 22 scrimmage TD's since joining San Francisco via trade last season, and had over 100 total yards (54 rushing, 64 receiving), while tight-end George Kittle and receiver Brandon Aiyuk both eclipsed the century mark in receiving yards with 149 and 109, respectively. Ja'Marr Chase of the Bengals led all receivers with 10 receptions and finished with an even 100 yards receiving and 1 TD.
Week 10 Preview: When the (5-3) 49ers return from the BYE Week, they'll be headed to Duval County to face the (6-2) Jacksonville Jaguars and quarterback Trevor Lawrence. Winners of five straight games, the Jags and Niners are two teams that appear to be going in completely opposite directions as Jacksonville got off to a slow start but has been on a tear as of late, whereas San Francisco seemed unbeatable out of the gates and now resembles a reeling team in desperate need of righting the course. The bye comes at a pivotal time for Kyle Shanahan and the 49ers who since losing receiver and Swiss Army knife Deebo Samuel to injury in Week 6, have been playing like a team with an identity crisis as they seem lost and unable to find their rhythm without one of their key cogs. Although rough at times, the defense has also taken a step back from their dominant start to the season, but hopes to get back on track with a little help thanks to a big move made by GM John Lynch who had already made a move a few weeks earlier with the addition of Randy Gregory.
Just before Tuesday's NFL trade deadline, the 49ers went out and made a splash by acquiring defensive-end Chase Young from the Washington Commanders in exchange for a third-round pick. Young, at 24 years old, is a former Defensive Rookie of the Year Award winner and former teammate of Nick Bosa as the tandem spent two seasons together at Ohio State where they tallied a combined total of 33 sacks as teammates from 2017-18. Both players were drafted with the No. 2 overall pick one year apart by their respective teams and will now reunite in hopes of helping provide a boost to San Francisco's pass rush. Young is slated to be a free-agent at the conclusion of the 2023 season after the Commanders declined to pick up his fifth-year option during the offseason due to his injury history. After his Defensive Rookie of the Year campaign in 2020 which also included a trip to the Pro Bowl, an ACL tear limited Young to only 3 games last season. However, Young has enjoyed a bounce back season up to this point and joins SF with 5 sacks thru 7 games this season after leading Washington in the category.
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