This weekend is the third straight home game for the Cincinnati Bengals, as they welcome the San Francisco 49ers to Paul Brown Stadium for a matchup between two current No. 7 seeds in the playoffs.
The Bengals were in a good spot this time last week, having reeled off two straight wins against playoff-caliber teams in the Raiders and Steelers. Unfortunately, the three-game win streak still couldn’t be attained as Cincy fell to the Chargers in a very weird game.
Ahead of a key game where both teams need a win to remain in the playoff seeding, let’s take a look at how Madden sees this game playing out.
Madden Simulation: Cincinnati Bengals 24, San Francisco 49ers 27
Bengals Stats
- Joe Burrow – 27-of-32, 306 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT; 3 carries, 18 yards
- Joe Mixon – 22 carries, 114 yards, TD; 6 rec, 45 yards
- Tee Higgins – 4 rec, 82 yards, TD
- Ja’Marr Chase – 3 rec, 56 yards
- Drew Sample – Rec, 6 yards, TD
- Germaine Pratt – 8 tackles
- Trey Hendrickson – 2.5 sacks
- Trae Waynes – INT
- Eli Apple – INT
49ers Stats
- Jimmy Garoppolo – 11-of-18, 194 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT
- Elijah Mitchell – 19 carries, 73 yards, TD
- George Kittle – 11 rec, 103 yards, 2 TD
- Azeez Al-Shaair – 12 tackles
- Nick Bosa – 2 sacks
- K’Waun Williams – INT
- Josh Norman – INT
This game, as expected, comes down to the wire with the 49ers winning it with a last-second Robbie Gould field goal to hand Cincy their sixth loss of the season. This would be a demoralizing way to lose for sure.
I did chuckle seeing Drew Sample scoring a touchdown in this sim and also at Trae Waynes nabbing his first interception in just three games for the organization. Neither of these guys have played great (or at all) since joining the team but Madden believes they’ll come out swinging in Week 14.
The Bengals defense does a nice job limiting the 49ers run game from having a big day but George Kittle demolishes them, which paves the way to a Niners victory. Hopefully the score doesn’t end up going this way and Cincinnati can get back in the win column.