San Francisco 49ers vs. Cincinnati Bengals: Game Day Open Thread

The San Francisco 49ers play host to the Cincinnati Bengals, trying to shake off an ugly loss in Cleveland last week.

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After an ugly loss to Johnny Manziel and the Cleveland Browns last week, the San Francisco 49ers are looking to right the ship and get back on track. Or at least, as on track as they can be given the downward spiral the team has been on this season.

There has been some talk that Blaine Gabbert will “most likely” be San Francisco’s starting quarterback next season, which of course, adds more fuel the “Kaepernick is gone” fire – despite the organization’s suggestions to the contrary.

Said CSNBayArea.com’s Matt Maiocco:

"The one quarterback we know will be on the 49ers’ roster next season is Blaine Gabbert. It’s difficult to come up with a scenario in which Colin Kaepernick and the 49ers agree to maintain their union in 2016.Therefore, Gabbert is the most-likely quarterback to open the 2016 as the starter. Of course, he will not be handed anything. The 49ers will almost certainly draft a quarterback (we’ve said that before and were wrong), but that does not mean they are going to spend a first-round pick on the position."

And certainly, putting up games like he did against Arizona three weeks ago, and even firing a 70 yard overtime strike to beat Chicago two weeks ago, it might be tempting to pencil him in as next season’s starter. But against Cleveland last week, perhaps it’s best to throttle back those expectations.

Of course, the fact that the offensive line gave up an overwhelming number of sacks to the Browns – nine – didn’t help Gabbert’s cause.

But if Gabbert were able to pull off a win against the Bengals today – and look efficient doing it – it very well might go a long way toward bolstering his stock in the organization’s eyes. The fact that he’s the only quarterback guaranteed to be on San Francisco’s roster next season sure doesn’t hurt.

In the Bengals though, San Francisco is getting a wounded animal. Cincinnati is going to be without Andy Dalton who will be on the sidelines with an injury. A.J. McCarron is getting his first pro start which could be a blessing for a San Francisco team looking to get the bad taste of last week’s loss out of their collective mouths.

Next: San Francisco 49ers: Previewing the Bengals

Of course, they will still need to find a way to solve the league’s tenth best defense. The Bengals are giving up a tick under 340 yards of total offense per game, but they’re also only giving up 17.6 points per game – second in the league behind only the Broncos.

With an offense that has been inconsistent all season long and are scoring just 14.5 points per game – which is dead last in the league.

It’s not exactly a recipe for success, but if the 49ers can find some way to put some points up on the board – and slow down an offense that will be playing with one hand tied behind their backs – Gabbert and the 49ers might just be able to pull of a win today.

56. Final. 13. 42. 24

So what do you think? What are your predictions for the game? Do you think the 49ers will be able to take advantage of Dalton’s absence? Or will they fall flat like they did last week in Cleveland?

This is your place to talk about the game and all things 49ers. Have a thought? An opinion? Share them here. Let’s here what you think. Step up and sound off.

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