3 Bengals who shut their haters up against the 49ers

The Cincinnati Bengals won 31-17 over the San Francisco 49ers. The win moved the Stripes to 4-3 on the year and while they're still at the bottom of the AFC North, anyone can see that they're going to be in contention for a playoff spot assuming this same team keeps showing up.

We're at the point of the year now where the Bengals play their best ball and get things figured out. In the past two years, that's carried over through the playoffs. Are we about to see that same formula play out for the third straight year?

Heading into this game, there was criticism for certain players due to their not-so-great performances in the first six games. Well, in this game against the 49ers, these players had the last laugh. Their team got the win and they played a big part in getting them the victory.

All stats courtesy of ESPN

These Bengals had the last laugh this week

Joe Mixon

The Bengals' run game had a brutal start to the season and Mixon, in particular, was struggling. The former second-round pick had a season-high 87 rushing yards in the win against the 49ers and averaged 5.4 yards per carry. The entire Bengals' run game was prolific on Sunday but Mixon finally broke through and hopefully this is only the start of dominant runs for him.

Joe Burrow

The Bengals' slow start this season went hand-in-hand with Burrow's calf injury and it appears now that he's fully healed because he's looking like peak Burrow. Part of why the offense struggled so much in those early games was that Burrow was basically a statue in the pocket. He couldn't scramble to get away from pressure and do the things that make him great.

That isn't the case anymore and Sunday's game proved that. He threw for 283 yards, three touchdowns, and rushed for over 40 yards in the double digit win, silencing any doubt that Burrow is back.

The sky is the limit for this team if Burrow continues to play this well.

Tee Higgins

It's been a quiet start to the year for Higgins, who hasn't been balling out during his contract year as people thought he would. Higgins' best performance was in Week 2 when he scored the only two touchdowns of the season and had 89 yards receiving. He had his second-best performance of the season against the Niners, grabbing six balls for 69 yards with a long of 33 yards.

Higgins might not be the same threat that he's been in years past but he still made plays when called upon and that's what this offense needs.