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| ARI at NO | ATL at TB | BAL at MIA | BUF at CLE | CHI at MIN | CIN at SF | DEN at HOU | DET at SD |
| GB at STL | IND at OAK | JAX at PIT | NYJ at NE | PHI at DAL | SEA at CAR | TEN at KC | WAS at NYG |
Week 15 Game Recap: Cincinnati Bengals 13, San Francisco 49ers 20
What you need to know
| Cincinnati Bengals |
QB Carson Palmer was not able to rally the Bengals late in this game to avoid another tough and embarrassing loss against a 49ers team who has struggled all year. The big key in this game was time of possession as the 49ers had the ball for more than 12 minutes than the Bengals, and their defense simply could not get off the field. The Bengals only had three possessions in the second half of the game, and a lack of opportunity was big factor in keeping the Bengals passing stars down in this game. Palmer still threw for 251 yards in the game and did have one big play, a 52 yard touchdown pass to WR Chris Henry. Palmer and the Bengals had a chance to tie the game up late, but WR Chad Johnson was not able to hold on to the ball on a pass into the end zone on fourth down. Cincinnati was unable to stop the 49ers on defense and get the ball back for the offense, which kind of summed up how things went for the Bengals all game.
The Bengals rushing attack never got on track in this game. RB Rudi Johnson started the game but, shared carries with RB Kenny Watson and RB DeDe Dorsey in the first half. Johnson played even less in the second half as the Bengals played from behind and Watson saw more action because he is a better receiver and pass blocker. Johnson had seven carries for only 16 yards, and Watson had eight carries for 33 yards.
WR Chad Johnson led the Bengals with six catches for 78 yards but, seemed to be out of sync with Palmer on some plays. Johnson looked clearly frustrated with his quarterback on few plays in the game where they failed to connect. He had an opportunity to tie the game up with about two minutes left, but was unable to hold onto the pass in the end zone. The 49ers secondary did a good job of stopping Johnson and fellow wide receivers on the few trips to the red zone.
| San Francisco 49ers |
Shaun Hill made the best of his first NFL start by injecting some life into a 49ers offense that has been at or near the bottom in most offensive categories all season. He passed for 197 yards and threw for one touchdown, and ran in another one. Hill was decisive and got the ball out quickly to his receivers on short to intermediate routes. He got the start this week because QB Trent Dilfer suffered a concussion last week and was ruled out for this game. The San Francisco receivers did a good job of getting open and holding on to the ball, something they have struggled to do all season.
The game started out slow for RB Frank Gore as he only had 36 yards rushing on 11 carries in the first half, but the 49ers offensive line wore down the Bengals defense in the second half. San Francisco was able to control the clock by rushing Gore 18 times for 102 yards in the second half. He had a big ten yard run to seal the victory for San Francisco with less then two minutes left. Gore had his best rushing game of the season by racking 138 yards and seemed to benefit the most from 49ers newly found passing game.
WR Darrell Jackson also benefited from Hill's solid play as he caught a season high eight passes for 86 yards, having by far his best game of the year. The Bengals secondary did not play well and Jackson was able to get open often in this game. TE Vernon Davis was Hill's second favorite target as he caught five passes for 46, including a 17 yard touchdown pass.
What you ought to know
| QB Carson Palmer, Pass: 19 - 31 - 251 - 1 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 2 - 1 - 0 |
Palmer and offense started the game out slow but, got it going in the second quarter as they started moving the ball. He tried hitting WR Chris Henry deep a couple of times in the first quarter but, they unable to connect. Midway through the second quarter Palmer hit Henry in full stride on beautifully thrown ball over the middle of the field. He finished the first half nine for 14 for 145 yards. The inability of the Bengals defense to stop the San Francisco offense in the second half hurt Palmer and the rest of the offense as they simply were not able to get on the field much in the half. Palmer tried to lead the Bengals back late in the fourth quarter but, they were not able to make any big plays when the game was on the line. He almost had a touchdown late in the game as he went to WR Chad Johnson down the side line in the end zone on a fourth down with two minutes left, but Johnson was unable to bring the ball down on what was a tough catch. He had 106 yards passing in the second half but, the offense faltered on there few opportunities in the red zone.
| RB Kenny Watson, Rush: 8 - 33 - 0, Rec: 4 - 20 - 0 (5 targets) |
In somewhat of surprise, Watson saw a lot of action early in the game even though RB Rudi Johnson started the game. He got five of the first six carries in the game for Cincinnati. Watson caught a pass out in the flat and turned up field for 13 yard gain and a first down on a third down play in the second quarter. Watson lead the team in rushing in the first half with five carries for 18 yards and added two catches for 18 yards. He received most the playing time in the second half as the Bengals were forced to play from behind in the second half. He led the team in rushing with 33 yards and added four catches for 21 yards.
| RB Rudi Johnson, Rush: 7 - 16 - 0, Rec: 1 - 7 - 0 (1 targets) |
Johnson spent most of the first half splitting carries with RB Kenny Watson and RB DeDe Dorsey and did get a lot of touches. He only had five carries for 12 yards and one catch for eight yards in the first half. He only had two carries for four yards in the second half as teammate Watson got more playing time in the half. Cincinnati never really got the rushing game going as San Francisco did not allow a run longer then nine yards in the game.
| RB DeDe Dorsey, Rush: 2 - 11 - 0 |
Dorsey got some action in the first half of the game as he had two carries for 11 yards. He did not get a carry in the second half.
| WR Chad Johnson, Rec: 6 - 78 - 0 (10 targets) |
Johnson had a very quiet first half only catching one pass for eight yards and he only had two targets. Nate Clements did a good job of containing him early in the game. Early in the fourth quarter, he caught a pass for 20 yards on a pass over the middle of the field, and came back a few plays later to catch a 25 yard pass on the right sideline to move the ball into the red zone. Johnson had a possible touchdown pass late in the game on a critical fourth down play but, was unable to hold onto the ball. Even though Johnson caught seven balls, he and QB Carson Palmer just didn't seem to be on the same page most of the night. Palmer missed Johnson on a few passes where it appeared he though he would run a different route. Johnson's body language looked pretty negative toward his quarterback when Palmer missed him.
| WR T.J. Houshmandzadeh, Rec: 5 - 62 - 0 (7 targets) |
In the first half, Houshmandzadeh was a reliable target once again catching three passes for 35 yards, all completions were for first downs and extending the Bengals drive. His biggest catch of the second half came on a fourth and five play, with three minutes left, and on a pass over the middle for 18 yards to keep the drive alive. He only had one other catch for nine yards in the second half. The 49ers did a good job of shutting down Houshmandzadeh and WR Chad Johnson on the Bengals rare trips to the red zone in this game.
| WR Chris Henry, Rec: 1 - 52 - 1 (4 targets) |
Henry dropped a deep ball on the first drive of the game on pass he should have caught for a big gain. He would make up for it by catching a 52 yard touchdown pass in the second quarter as QB Carson Palmer hit him full stride on a crossing route. It was Henry's only catch of the game. All of Henry's targets were deep passes in this game.
| TE Dan Coats, Rec: 1 - 25 - 0 (1 targets) |
Coats caught a big pass for 25 yards down the left side line. The play helped set up the Bengals first field goal of the game. It was his only catch of the game.
| PK Shayne Graham 2 - 2 FG, 1 - 1 XP, 7 points |
Graham made a 24 yard field goal in the second quarter and a 35 yard one in the fourth.
| CIN Rush Defense |
The Bengals run defense did a good job against RB Frank Gore in the first half holding him to 33 yards on 11 carries. The defense seemed to get tired in the second half as they gave up 102 yards to Gore in the second half, including a ten yard run on a critical third down play with less then two minutes left that sealed a San Francisco victory.
| CIN Pass Defense |
The Bengals did not give up huge passing numbers in this game (they gave up 197 yards and one passing touchdown) but, were terrible on third down in this game and gave up a lot of big plays in the first half in the passing game. The San Francisco wide receivers did not have trouble getting open and they made journey man QB Shaun Hill look like a Pro Bowler. They did have two sacks but, did not force a turnover in the game.
| QB Shaun Hill, Pass: 21 - 28 - 197 - 1 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 5 - 12 - 1 |
Hill got the start because back-up turned starter, Trent Dilfer, suffered a concussion in last week's game against Minnesota and was ruled out for this game. It was Hill's first start in the NFL, and he is coming off a nice performance last week where he went 22 of 27 for 181 yards and one touchdown in relief of Dilfer. Hill picked up where he left off last week, by completing 9 of his first 10 passes for 84 yards and scored on a three yard bootleg to the right side of the field. He looked good early as the 49ers ran short to intermediate routes very effectively against a suspect Cincinnati secondary. Hill's impressive first half continued as he hit TE Vernon Davis on 17 yard touchdown pass over the middle to cap off a 76 yard scoring drive late in the first half. He finished the first half 14 for 18 for 149 yards and two touchdowns (one passing and one rushing.) Hill and the passing game took a back seat to the 49ers rushing game in the third quarter as he led them to two field goals. He did not make any critical mistakes and gave San Francisco something they have not had all year, a balanced attack from the air and on the ground. Playing the Bengals defense also helped Hill this game as they did little to get pressure on him and the Cincinnati defensive backs struggled mightily to keep their guy covered.
| RB Frank Gore, Rush: 29 - 138 - 0, Rec: 1 - 9 - 0 (1 targets) |
Gore did have a lot of running room in the first half as he had 11 carries for 36 yards. His longest run of the first half was only six yards. The second half got off to a much better start as he busted a 20 yard run up the middle on San Francisco's first play of the half. The 49ers gave the Bengals a heavy dose of Gore in the third quarter as he 12 carries for 76 yards, as the 49ers line began to wear down the Bengals defense. He sealed the game for the 49ers by gaining ten yards on a third and long with two minutes left in the game. Gore had his best game of the year rushing even though he never got close to scoring. He seemed to benefit the most from San Francisco's revived passing attack in this game.
| RB Maurice Hicks, Rush: 2 - 3 - 0, Rec: 2 - 17 - 0 (2 targets) |
Hicks only had two carries for three yards in the game, but he did add two catches for 17 yards.
| WR Darrell Jackson, Rec: 8 - 86 - 0 (10 targets) |
Jackson, who has been invisible most of the season, made a nice connection with QB Shaun Hill. He made a nice diving catch for 14 yards and a first down early in the game. He caught a 19 yard pass on the left side line late in the first half for his biggest gain of the half. Jackson had his best receiving game of year by far, by catching eight passes for 86 yards. Hill's solid play benefited Jackson the most, but the Bengals poor play from there cornerbacks added to his success as he had little trouble getting open.
| WR Arnaz Battle, Rec: 2 - 23 - 0 (3 targets) |
Battle caught a 17 yard pass for a first down on the 49ers first drive of the game, but it would be his only catch of the first half. He would only catch one more pass for six yards in the game.
| TE Vernon Davis, Rec: 5 - 46 - 1 (7 targets) |
If WR Darrell Jackson was QB Shaun Hill's number one target, then Davis was is number two. He too benefited significantly from Hill's good play and the Bengals lousy pass coverage. Davis caught a pass for 15 yards in the first quarter for a first down. He would add another three catches, including a 17 yard touchdown pass with nine seconds left in the first half. He finished the half with 38 yards. He only had one catch for eight yards in the second half but, he had one of his best games of the year catching five passes for 46 yards and one touchdown.
| TE Delanie Walker, Rec: 2 - 13 - 0 (3 targets) |
Walker had two catches for 13 yards in the first half. He did not have any catches in the second half.
| PK Joe Nedney 2 - 2 FG, 2 - 2 XP, 8 points |
Nedney connected on a 29 yard field goal early in the third quarter and another 38 yarder toward the end of the quarter. Late in the fourth quarter the 49ers made an interesting call by going for it on a fourth and two from the Cincinnati 24 yard line up by seven points, as opposed to let Nedney attempt a very make-able 42 field goal. Nedney has made 27 consecutive field goals.
| SF Rush Defense |
The 49ers were able to hold down the Bengals rushing game as they held the Cincinnati running backs to only 60 yards in the game. The longest run they gave up in the game was only nine yards.
| SF Pass Defense |
The 49ers only gave up one big play to the Bengals high powered passing game, a 52 yard touchdown pass in the second quarter. They did a good job of containing QB Carson Palmer and keeping them out of the end zone. But they were not able to force a turnover in this game.
