49ers Bengals Spread Favors Cincinnati in Sunday Matchup - 09-20-11

Last week the San Francisco 49ers and the Cincinnati Bengals were narrowly beaten in their respective games, which is why come Sunday both NFL squads are expected to be highly motivated to get back on the winning track. On Sunday, the 49ers lost 27-24 to the Dallas Cowboys in overtime, while the Bengals lost 24-22 to the Denver Broncos.

San Francisco 49ers Must Improve Total Yardage

Just when it looked like the 49ers - who kicked off the regular season with a none-too-shabby 33-17 win over the Seattle Seahawks - had the Cowboys beat, Dallas QB Tony Romo and crew dug deep to send the game into overtime, securing themselves a victory with a superb field goal.

The problem was that San Francisco struggled to fend off Dallas in the air, allowing for 427 passing yards and 3 TDs (courtesy of Dallas WR, Miles Austin). Currently, San Francisco rank 29th in the NFL with 128 passing yards per game, and are second last in the league in terms of total yardage, with just 415 yards in two games. That said, QB Alex Smith played well, completing 16 of 24 passes for 179 yards with a 99.0 passer rating and two scores.

The 49ers' rush defense did a fine job by keeping their rivals to 45 yards on 22 carries. In fact, in their last two games the 49ers' rush defense has only allowed 109 yards. It was not the greatest game for RB Frank Gore, who picked up just 47 yards on 20 carries, but he has room to improve.

So in Sunday's game against the Bengals, if the 49ers can improve their stats in the air, and Frank Gore can get his head back in the game, they could beat the Bengals, despite being underdogs in the 49ers Bengals spread.

Cincinnati Bengals Need To Be More Consistent

After finishing last season on 4-12, the Cincinnati Bengals have one thing going for them this season, which is that the only real way is up, and already they have surprised their detractors with some top performances. They too kicked off the regular season with a win, beating Denver Broncos 27-17.

And last Sunday they came back from a deficit of 17-3, only to lose the game by two points. But it wasn't so much that the Browns won the game, but that the Bengals threw it away. Consider how they blew three opportunities in the fourth quarter to go in front with a field goal, and didn't make the most of two opportunities when they took the ball into Denver's territory.

On the positive side, rookie QB Andy Dalton shined in his first complete game by making 27 of 41 passes for 332 yards and two TDs. Him and fellow rookie and WR AJ Green made really gelled, as Green caught 10 passes for 124 yards and scored a TD. However, RB Cedric Benson didn't do as well, racking up a paltry 59 yards from 16 carries. Fans expecting him to play like he did in week 1 were sorely disappointed.

But what really cost the Bengals the game was their inability in the third down, as they converted 1 of 11 third down. If they can show a marked improvement in this part of their game and a greater level of consistency overall on Sunday, they'll send the 49ers back to San Francisco with their legs between their legs.

49ers Bengals Spread: Cincinnati Bengals -3 +105

Our Prediction: 49ers vs Bengals

We see a long and hard game between these two NFL franchises on Sunday as they are pretty evenly matched and both will be fired up after losing by such close margins last weekend. But we predict the Bengals will win as per the Cincinnati Bengals line.

NFL Betting Pick: Cincinnati Bengals -3

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Teams
	$900 bonus	25% NFL bonus	$20 free bet	Reduced Juice
49ers	+3 (-125)	+3 (-125)	+2.5 (-110)	+1.5 (-110)
Bengals	-3 (-105)	-3 (+105)	-2.5 (-110)	-1.5 (-110)
O/U	41 (-110)	41 (-110)	41 (-110)	41 (-110)