3 Takeaways from 49ers' Week 8 Loss vs. Bengals

The San Francisco 49ers opened the season looking like the best team in football. Since beating the Dallas Cowboys 42-10 in Week 5, however, San Francisco has gotten banged-up and is reeling.

Sunday's loss to the Cincinnati Bengals was the 49ers' third straight, and, for the moment, San Francisco finds itself a half-game behind the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC West.

Quarterback Brock Purdy threw a pair of interceptions, while San Francisco got pushed around at the line on both sides of the ball. The result was a decisive 31-17 loss and a lot of questions heading into the bye week.

Here are our three biggest takeaways from the 49ers' Week 8 loss to the Bengals.

Let's take a quick moment to recognize a piece of NFL history. Though he couldn't do enough to get a win, with his first-quarter touchdown run, Christian McCaffrey tied the NFL record for consecutive games with a scrimmage touchdown.

According to ESPN Stats & Information, McCaffrey tied the streak that Lenny Moore had with the Baltimore Colts in 1963 and 1964.

It's a testament to how consistently great McCaffrey has been for the 49ers and how impactful last year's trade to acquire him has been.

It was a risky deal, as McCaffrey had a notable injury history and was heavily used by the Carolina Panthers before he was traded. It cost San Francisco second-, third- and fourth-round picks in 2023 and a 2024 fifth-round pick. It wasn't financially cheap either, as McCaffrey remains the league's highest-paid running back in terms of annual value.

However, it's hard to not consider the trade a win after almost exactly one year. McCaffrey is a special player and one on whom the offense can lean.

Before he faced the Cleveland Browns in Week 6, Purdy had never lost a regular-season game. He's now lost three, and for the second straight week, Purdy tossed multiple interceptions.

It's clear that the absence of star receiver Deebo Samuel (shoulder) has impacted Purdy and what head coach Kyle Shanahan is able to do offensively. The 49ers got plenty out of McCaffrey, Brandon Aiyuk and tight end George Kittle, but Purdy struggled to spread the ball around.

Aiyuk, McCaffrey and Kittle combined for 14 of San Francisco's 15 receptions. Purdy finished 15-of-23 for 242 yards with no touchdowns and the two picks.

Almost all of the momentum that Purdy forged during the hot start to his NFL career has dissipated. It's not yet time for San Francisco to pull the plug and give Sam Darnold a chance, but San Francisco must take a breather during the bye and figure out how to put easy completions and big plays back into the offense.

Purdy is finally playing like the young quarterback that he is, and if the 49ers hope to make a Super Bowl run, it's time for Shanahan to game plan accordingly.

Purdy's recent struggles shouldn't be overly concerning. Samuel will get healthy, Purdy can learn from his mistakes, and Shanahan will have two weeks to prepare a game plan for the Jacksonville Jaguars.

The bigger issue may be opponents' recent ability to run on San Francisco. The Browns started the trend by racking up 160 rushing yards in their Week 6 upset. The Minnesota Vikings were less effective last week, but Minnesota has struggled to run all season, and Alexander Mattison averaged 4.9 yards per carry.

The Bengals gashed San Francisco for 134 rushing yards, with Joe Mixon picking up 87 of them and an impressive 5.4 yards-per-carry average.

Mixon came into Week 8 averaging just 3.8 yards per carry.

Suddenly, teams have been able to control the tempo and the clock against the 49ers—Cincinnati held the ball for more than 31 minutes. It's become a perfect way to attack San Francisco because its offense has struggled to generate chunk plays consistently.

It's an issue that defensive coordinator Steve Wilks must address during the bye—and one general manager John Lynch will want to consider at Tuesday's trade deadline.

*Contract information via Spotrac.