Bengals vs 49ers: Who are the experts taking in week 14?

The Cincinnati Bengals are looking to bounce back after the devastating loss to the Chargers in the Jungle. They still started out slow but began to come alive in the second and third quarters. Unfortunately, a mistake by Joe Mixon killed the momentum and the Chargers put the game out of reach.

Now, the Bengals have been plagued by injuries.

Hopefully, everyone will be good to go because they are going to all the firepower they have against a desperate 49ers team who are sitting as the 7th seed (as the Bengals are in the AFC). Another loss and a Philly win could knock them out.

But, in the AFC the teams are so tight that another loss and a Steelers win on Thursday and the Bengals are out. It’s such a razor’s edge in the AFC between seeds 1 and 12. Any slight jostle and the entire thing falls apart.

So, a game between two desperate teams is a recipe for a dogfight that can literally go either way, which makes sense that WynnBET almost has this game at even. Currently, the 49ers are a 1.5-point favorite, which says even Vegas isn’t confident about this game.

Here is who the experts are going with in Bengals-49ers.

• Ben Rolfe (Pro Football Network) – Bengals 24, 49ers 27
• Andrew Buller-Russ (Sportsnaut) – Bengals 30,  49ers 20
• Pete Prisco (CBS Sports) – Bengals 31, 49ers 21

It’s not surprising that everyone is split on this game. I am still unsure about who will win this game. I do find it interesting that Andrew and Pete have the Bengals winning by two scores but Ben has the 49ers winning but only by a field goal. Makes me think they are not as confident in the 49ers.

Ben Rolfe is attributing the Bengals inefficiency in the RedZone as why he thinks they will lose the close game.

"This is an even game when you look through the statistics, but the difference very well could be how inefficient the Bengals are in the red zone, both offensively and defensively. Failing to convert those opportunities into touchdowns could be costly against a team like the 49ers, who are converting around 75% of the time on offense."

The 49ers’ running game has been deadly this season (take it from a guy who has Elijah Mitchell on his fantasy team). The Bengals seem to be more capable of striking from outside the red zone rather than in the red zone, all San Fran needs to do is not allow the big play.

On the other hand, Pete Prisco believes that Burrow and Chase get back on track this week. Even with Burrow hurt, he was able to remain accurate.

"The 49ers are playing a second straight road game, while the Bengals are coming off a home loss to the Chargers. The 49ers will use their run game to dictate tempo here, but I think this is a game for Joe Burrow to light up the 49ers secondary. Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase get back on track."

Andrew Buller-Russ also thinks the Bengals Offense and potent Defense will be too much for the 49ers.

"The 49ers haven’t had a potent offense, nor a crushing D. Meanwhile, the Bengals have both."

Maybe it’s because they’re impartial but I don’t know if there are any Bengals fans that will be that confident about this game or any other game going forward. They’re too inconsistent for me to fully trust them until I watch them win.

We’ll see which experts end up being right.