16 “walk-off” observations from the 49ers’ thrilling win in Cincinnati

It was rough on my heart, but it was worth it. The San Francisco 49ers blew a 14-point fourth quarter lead to a Cincinnati Bengals team that turned the ball over twice, and for much of the game, played horribly. The 14-point lead should have been even larger than it was, which is why so many 49er fans were frustrated that the team allowed the Bengals to tie the game.

Still, the 49ers had a chance to win the game in regulation. Starting quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo led the team into field goal range, with time about to run out. Unfortunately, kicker Robbie Gould missed the field goal, and the game went into overtime.

After the Bengals marched down and kicked a field goal to take the lead, the 49ers needed a field goal of their own to tie it, or a touchdown to win it. They drove the ball down the field 75 yards—all passes—for a game-winning touchdown. It was a much better ending than last week's loss in Seattle. Here are my 16 observations from the 49ers walk-off win:

• The special teams unit bounced back in a big way, recovering two muffed Bengals punt returns to give the 49ers good field position. River Cracraft recovered the first muff. Trent Sherfield recovered the second.
• The 49ers offense turned the first recovery into a 33-yard Gould field goal. Trent Williams was called for a holding penalty, costing the 49ers the yardage to perhaps have scored a touchdown. That was Williams' third holding penalty this season.
• The 49ers offense turned the second takeaway into into a touchdown, a Garoppolo pass to tight end George Kittle.
• Per John Chapman, that was Kittle's sixth touchdown in his last six games. He's pretty good at football.

• Deebo Samuel is the 49ers MVP this season. This team goes as he goes. Kittle, Trent Williams and Nick Bosa can all make a case for team MVP, but for this season, it has to be Samuel. On Sunday, he had only one catch for 22 yards, but he also ran the ball eight times for 37 yards and one touchdown. It wasn't a huge statistical day for Samuel, but his presence makes a difference.
• Ambry Thomas made his first NFL start. As one might imagine, he had his share of problems. He left the game in the fourth quarter with concussion symptoms. Hopefully he learned from this game and can build on it.

• Has Azeez Al-Shaair become the 49ers best linebacker? He's certainly looked like it this season. He had 11 tackles and one sack before leaving the game with an elbow injury. Let's hope today's tests show that it's not anything serious.
• Tom Compton continues to suck at pass blocking. Daniel Brunskill isn't great either. That said, Compton has been really good in run blocking lately. I complain about him a lot, but I'll give him credit, as well.

• Nick Bosa has 14 sacks in 13 games. He can't be stopped, even though he's held or double-teamed every play. On Sunday, his second sack of the game was perhaps his biggest this season. He is about to get paid an offensive amount of money. This is one reason why I don't believe the rumors that Garoppolo will be back in 2022.
• The defense played well…until the 4th quarter. Then in overtime, they came through, allowing only a field goal. The defense sacked Joe Borrow five times, which is the most sacks they've tallied in one game since sacking Aaron Rodgers five times in a 2019 regular season meeting.
• Did I mention George Kittle already? I did? That's ok. He's worth mentioning again. He had a huge catch to put the 49ers in game-winning field goal range.

• Kittle had several other catches that came at just the right time, when the team needed him to come through the most. He finished the day with 13 catches for 151 yards and one touchdown. What he has done over the last two weeks is brilliant: 22 catches for 332 yards, and three touchdowns (per Jeff Deeney).

• Gould missed a field goal he normally would make. This after missing a PAT last week. Is he hurt, or is he just in a slump? I trust him less than I used to.
• K'Waun Williams is the best member of the 49ers secondary. Not only is he the best in coverage, he is an excellent pass rusher. Whenever he is called on to blitz the quarterback, he makes the most of it. His sack late in Sunday's game was huge for the 49ers. Williams is scheduled to be a free agent after the season. I'd love to see the team bring him back.
• Wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk scored the game-winning touchdown with under two minutes left in overtime. He has really turned things around this season. He finished the game on Sunday with six catches for 62 yards, and the aforementioned touchdown.
• Garoppolo had a good game, despite being sacked five times, and stats that weren't eye-popping (27 of 41 for 296 yards and two touchdowns). He was perfect on the game-winning drive, and really good on the drive before that one—the one that should have been the game-winner—although he did have one pass that should have been a pick-6 had the Bengals' defender not dropped it. He also became the fastest quarterback in 49ers history to surpass 10,000 passing yards. He did it in only 43 games, one less than Jeff Garcia. Congrats to him!

The 49ers are 5-2 on the road this season. And the 49ers are 10-1 on the road, in the Eastern Time Zone, over the last 3 years (per Matt Barrows). They are 2-4 at home. Next up is a must-win game at home against the Atlanta Falcons (who are also fighting for a playoff spot). I wonder if the Falcons would be willing to play this one in Atlanta.

• Marc Adams
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