Bengals vs. 49ers: What's the Game Plan for Cincinnati?

Even without Andy Dalton under center, the Cincinnati Bengals' game plan against the San Francisco 49ers doesn't change much. 

The reasons are twofold. For one, backup AJ McCarron, now the starter while Dalton recovers from a broken thumb, isn't all that different. Two, because the 49ers not only sit on a 4-9 record, but just got waxed by the Cleveland Browns 24-10 last week.

Cincinnati has specific areas it can improve upon on each side of the football while still gunning to wrap up a playoff spot. Below, let's take a look at how Cincinnati figures to approach the road trip out west.

Offensive Game Plan

Gary Landers/Associated Press

Cincinnati probably would have kept rolling with a run-first approach against the Pittsburgh Steelers last weekend as it had in the two weeks prior were it not for the injury to Dalton. 

Instead, Dalton went down in the first quarter, and the team ended the game with 16 rushes to 37 pass attempts.

Expect a re-commitment to the ground game in San Francisco.

Not to say McCarron cannot be effective. He threw a pair of scores and picks with 280 yards last week on short notice. He's been putting in extra time this week, too, according to Matt Maiocco of CSNBayarea.com:

But the approach would be a run-first look even if Dalton laced up, provided the fact the 49ers rank 31st with an average of 133.2 rushing yards allowed per game. Cleveland, of all teams, managed 230 total rushing yards and two scores against the miserable unit.

This means plenty of work for Jeremy Hill between the tackles, the coaching staff demanding that he shoots up the field without dancing in the backfield, an improvement he's flashed over the last three weeks.

It also means setting up Bernard on the outside and not overthinking it by running him up the gut. Getting him in space against a miserable unit makes too much sense to avoid.

McCarron will go up and over the top a few times, but don't expect much in the way of high-risk throws. He might make a few mistakes, but with the way the duo of Hill and Bernard can control the game, it shouldn't be much of an issue.

Defensive Game Plan

Frank Victores/Associated Press/Associated Press

Defense is where Cincinnati needs to make most of its improvements.

While the team missed top corner Adam Jones last week in the loss to the Steelers, Pittsburgh managed an 8-of-14 clip on third down.

Call it a dangerous trend, as Cincinnati's third-down defense continues to look iffy at best. This means the unit needs to blitz more often to shut down quarterbacks and ruin the timing of plays.

The 49ers might not sound like much this year, but the team has shown a marked improvement with Blaine Gabbert under center. It's fun to joke about a guy who couldn't cut it with the Jacksonville Jaguars before they became playoff contenders this year, but he's completed 63.2 percent of his passes this year with six touchdowns to three picks.

His weapons aren't anything to underestimate, either. Anquan Boldin remains a reliable, chain-moving veteran who can cause corners fits, and Cincinnati should know all about deep threat Torrey Smith, who did his fair share of damage against the unit as a member of the Baltimore Ravens.

Jones returning should help many of these issues. He's capable of manning up either of those wideouts, letting the safeties roam. Geno Atkins and the line get plenty of pressure on their own, but clearly on third down it hasn't been enough, especially if the opposing offense game plans to attack the gaps left by the elite rush of the linemen in the first place.

Look for Cincinnati to unleash the blitzes this weekend against a turnover-prone quarterback leading an offense that doesn't have a credible rushing attack to balance the unit.

Key Players and Matchups

Jeremy Hill 

It doesn't sound easy to run on a NaVorro Bowman-led defense, but this year it is.

Call it great news for Hill, who appeared to be over his confidence issues from early in the season, totaling 86 and 98 yards in his two games before last week's loss.

The Bengals need Hill to get back into rhythm and keep the pressure off McCarron Sunday afternoon. Cincinnati cannot afford for this to be a low-scoring game in which the running game gets nothing going and a struggling defense gains confidence and eventually puts McCarron's head on a tee.

In other words, Hill has to act as the enforcer. He's shown in two of the past three weeks he can do so; now it's time to make it happen.

Bengals Linebackers 

Jeff Haynes/Associated Press

Vontaze Burfict and the linebackers haven't played terrible football over the past few weeks, but they are part of the reason the third-down performance continues to stagnate.

The linebackers get an interesting test this week with San Francisco's Shaun Draughn, the new starting back. He's ran well in recent weeks, but more important for the Bengals is how he's performed as Gabbert's safety valve.

There, Draughn has four or more catches in four of his last five games. It's clear he's where the ball goes when the pocket breaks down, which is where the linebackers should gravitate to once the rush from the defensive linemen hits home.

Bengals Offensive Line

San Francisco might only have 22 sacks on the year, but that doesn't mean the team lacks strong rushers who can break a play down in a hurry.

There's outside linebacker Aaron Lynch to worry about, who has 6.5 sacks on the year. Next to him is Ahmad Brooks, who has four sacks.

Other than being able to isolate these disruptive players and silence them, the offensive line has to keep McCarron's jersey clean and his command of the offense confident. It also has to get out and run over a very beatable unit to free up the running backs.

Prediction

This might be a road contest with a backup under center, but the Bengals should have few issues Sunday against the 49ers. 

Really, the 49ers are fortunate to have four wins after such a ridiculous offseason of losses and overall drama, but so it goes when the schedule feeds them iffy Minnesota, Baltimore, Atlanta and Chicago teams—meaning the blowout at the hands of Cleveland last week says quite a lot.

The Cincinnati defense shouldn't have many issues applying pressure and shutting down a unit lacking serious weapons. McCarron might struggle, but quick outs to talents such as A.J. Green and riding the Hill-Bernard combo will be as easy as it sounds.

Look for Hill to post a huge game and McCarron to earn himself more than a few headlines as the Bengals roll. Cincinnati has planned for this sort of situation for a long time and as an added bonus gets a downtrodden team to try it out against.

Prediction: Bengals 31, 49ers 10

Stats courtesy of NFL.com and are accurate as of December 18. All advanced metrics courtesy of Pro Football Focus.