49ers vs. Bengals: San Francisco's Winners, Losers

After the San Francisco 49ers' victory over the Cincinnati Bengals, which Niners should be crowned a winner and which should be deemed the losers?

A win is a win in the NFL. This holds especially true if you are able to steal a victory on the road, and that is exactly what the 49ers did. The defense looked strong, and it was undoubtedly the key to their success today.

However, it was a sloppy game all around for the 49ers, who only gained 228 yards of total offense on the day. The offensive line struggled mightily throughout the game—so much so that it looked like a group of junior varsity kids trying to block some grown men in the NFL.

Nonetheless, with the victory in hand, it's time to look back on the positives and negatives from the game.

Here are the winners and losers from the 49ers' Week 3 win over the Bengals.

Loser 5: Chilo Rachal

49ers offensive guard Chilo Rachal might have had the worst game out of everyone in the stadium on Sunday. His two holding calls—one of which was declined—don't even tell the whole story.

Rachal was continually being shoved around on running plays, which are supposed to be his strength, and the only reason he is sniffing the field in 2011. His pass protection wasn't anything to write home about either.

If the 49ers want to shore up their offensive line problems, Rachal must go. Don't be surprised to hear 49ers fans chanting that at the next home game.

Winner 5: Replacements

The 49ers replacements played extremely well in place of the injured starters. The two standouts were safety Reggie Smith, who played for injured Donte Whitner, and Kendall Hunter, who played for the "injured" Frank Gore.

Whether Gore's injury was the reason he was sidelined for the latter part of the game is another story. However, there is no doubting that his struggles permitted Kendall Hunter to receive the majority of the carries in the fourth quarter.

Hunter ran with the opportunity, and he actually ended up scoring the game-winning touchdown with four minutes to go in the fourth quarter.

Smith, who subbed for the injured Whitner, ended up intercepting an ill-advised Andy Dalton pass to seal the deal late in the fourth quarter.

Loser 4: NFL Officiating That Called Crabtree out of Bounds

It was a call that could've completely changed the outcome of the game.

After Michael Crabtree caught what many believed to be a go-ahead 10-yard touchdown pass from Alex Smith, he was then robbed shortly after.

Officials deemed Crabtree ran out of bounds and then was the first player to touch the ball. This resulted in a nullified touchdown and a five-yard penalty on top of it. Video later showed that Crabtree did not step out of bounds, but the proof came a little too late.

49ers coach Jim Harbaugh tried to challenge the play, but the video replay came too late, forcing Harbaugh to eat his red flag.

Either way, the 49ers stalled on the drive and were forced to settle for a game-tying field goal.

Winner 4: David Akers

Fifty-plus yard field goals are starting to become an expectation rather than a luxury from the veteran kicker David Akers.

With 2:16 remaining in the fourth quarter and leading 10-6, Harbaugh decided to trust that Akers would make a 53-yard field goal, instead of playing the field position game and punting the ball away to the Bengals offense.

Harbaugh's gamble paid off and made him look like a genius, and Akers like a Brazilian soccer player.

Loser 3: Alex Smith's Body

Ex-49er Nate Clements somewhat got his revenge after he annihilated Smith on a quarterback keeper to the right side.

After being released by the 49ers outright during this past offseason, Clements was probably licking his chops as he saw Smith lumbering outside of the pocket. Clements threw his entire body into the hit, which sent Smith flying to the ground and his helmet jarring loose.

However, Smith, being the tough guy that he is, popped up like nothing ever happened.

Love him or hate him, you can't deny Smith's toughness.

Winner 3: NaVorro Bowman

If you look at the stat leaders in the NFL through Week 3, you might not be surprised to see a 49ers inside linebacker at the top of the list.

However, what might surprise you is that his name isn't Patrick Willis, but rather second-year player NaVorro Bowman. 

Bowman has accumulated 30 tackles thus far, 13 of which came against the Bengals on Sunday.

Now we all know why the 49ers let Takeo Spikes walk away last offseason...

Loser 2: Frank Gore

We are quickly running out of excuses to defend Gore.

After another disappointing performance—17 rushes for 42 yards—Gore's title as the 49ers feature back might be nearing its end. 

It was his third straight game this season with a yards-per-carry average of under 2.8. On top of that, he turned the ball over on a fumble, which very well could've been the play that cost the 49ers the game.

Gore also dropped a couple of easy passes out of the backfield, and he missed a key block that resulted in an Alex Smith sack.

You can blame it on the hip injury Gore sustained last year that ended his 2010 campaign. You can blame it on the time he missed this offseason due to his contract holdout. You can blame it on the ankle injury he endured during the Bengals game.

Any way you look at it, Gore struggled mightily against the Bengals run defense. You have to wonder how patient Harbaugh will be as he waits for Gore to find his youth again in 2011.

Winner 2: Defense

The defense single-handedly won the game for the 49ers.

While the 49ers offense accumulated 228 yards of total offense, the defense one-upped them and surrendered only 226 yards to the Bengals offense.

In fact, after the Bengals' first drive of the game that resulted in a field goal, their offense couldn't get anything going for the last 49 minutes of the game.

The 49ers made Andy Dalton look like the rookie quarterback that he is—minus that first drive—and the run defense held Cedric Benson to only 64 yards rushing on 17 attempts. It was the 25th time in a row the 49ers defense has not allowed a 100-yard rushing performance.

Moreover, the cornerbacks looked great in man coverage, and the linebackers wrapped up and waited for help to come. Even better yet, the defensive linemen were able to supply a decent amount of pressure on the quarterback, even when they brought a four-man rush. 

To put it simply, the 49ers do not win this game if the defense didn't show up.

Loser 1: The Entire Offensive Line

I know Chilo Rachal was already singled out on this list, but the rest of the offensive line shouldn't be able to escape the criticism after the way they played on Sunday.

Even though Smith only threw for 201 yards, he played brilliantly considering the amount of time he had to throw from the pocket. He was sacked five times, and it should have been more considering how many times Smith had to think back to Houdini training days in order to magically escape from the pressure.

Joe Staley gave up two sacks, and this is coming from the "best" offensive lineman in the unit. Anthony Davis gave up one sack, but he was getting beat like a drum all game long. Rachal played one of the worst games that an offensive guard could've played.

If it wasn't the pass protection, it was the run blocking. The offensive line also failed to open up any adequate running lanes for Frank Gore to run through. This certainly has been a recurring theme in the first three games of the season.

And if it wasn't the run blocking, it was the penalties they piled up throughout the duration of the game. It got so bad that at one point the referee called a false start on the entire offensive line.

That's when you know things are bad.

Winner 1: Vernon Davis

Talk about putting your money where your mouth is.

Vernon Davis did just that, and more.

After being held to two catches during last Sunday's game against the Dallas Cowboys, Davis voiced his frustrations with Harbaugh in his office last week. Davis wanted the offense to utilize him and the other playmakers on offense more, something it hadn't done for the first two games of the season.

Whether or not all of the playmakers were employed against the Bengals is debatable. However, one thing that can't be questioned is that the 49ers used Davis exactly how they were supposed to. Davis was targeted nine times and caught eight passes for 114 yards. He did drop one pass, but made up for it with a few acrobatic catches in clutch situations.

What Davis did this week could have very well have saved the season for the 49ers. He approached Harbaugh and challenged him to get the ball into his hands so that he could make plays. That misdirection screen pass that allowed him to be wide open on the left side of the field was undoubtedly prepared for all week.

Davis challenged Harbaugh, and Davis came through in the clutch. By earning Harbaugh's trust this game, expect Davis to be properly utilized on offense for the rest of the year.

That sentence can sound like music to Niner fans' ears.