Bengals clinch 5th straight playoff berth with 24-14 win

San Francisco 49ers cornerback Kenneth Acker (20) sits on the…

Cincinnati Bengals tight end Tyler Kroft, center, celebrates with wide receiver Mohamed Sanu, left, and wide receiver Marvin Jones (82) after scoring on a touchdown reception against the San Francisco 49ers during the first hal…

“We as a defense are behind them, and we’re not pointing the finger or anything like that”, Bowman said. “We just have to come out with the same energy in the second half. What we have to do is handle our side of the ball, and I think we did that for the most part today”. The Bengals star finished with a sack, a tackle for loss, and an interception to go along with being one of the team’s leading tacklers.

“They had turnovers, quite a few, and we didn’t”, McCarron said. “Until we understand that we can not make those fundamental mistakes…”

The Good: Hue Jackson’s conservative approach to begin the game allowed McCarron to settle in and wait for the Bengals’ disruptive defense to make things easier for him with some good field position.

A fumble, shanked punt and late interception helped the Bengals get out to a 21-0 lead in the first half against the struggling 49ers. After his fellow former Alabama quarterbacks had compiled an 0-13 record in National Football League games they had started coming into this one, McCarron improved his personal career tally to 1-0. “He’s a good game manager”. McDonald just happened to bobble these – like he did a potential touchdown later – and ended up giving the ball to the nearest Bengals defender each time.

– JEREMY HILL: With the Bengals missing quarterback Andy Dalton and tight end Tyler Eifert, Hill stepped up and scored their first two touchdowns, on 1-yard runs.

Bengals’ offensive coordinator Hue Jackson said, “Everybody knows where we’re going”.

“I feel like we came out pretty good”, 49ers defensive back Jimmie Ward said. “I appreciate every one of those guys”. The second-year quarterback completed 15 of 21 passes for 192 yards and a touchdown. “But we played in an empty stadium”, Smith said after Sunday’s 24-14 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals.

After a scoreless first quarter, the Bengals scored a touchdown following an Anquan Boldin fumble, then scored another TD on their next possession following a short punt.

On defense, Tank Carradine started in place of Aaron Lynch, although Corey Lemonier and Eli Harold also have filled in throughout the first half. “That shouldn’t be the case”.

Pound the rock: Hue Jackson didn’t see much success running the ball, but racked up the attempts. 15 of 21 passing. Toss in a blocked field goal in the fourth quarter and he contributed directly to a 10-point swing.

A week after the Bengals managed only 64 yards rushing against the Steelers, they had just 68 against a San Francisco team that gave up 230 yards on the ground at Cleveland the week before.