Bengals vs. 49ers, 24-14: Full highlights, final score and more

The Bengals defense stomped out the 49ers in A.J. McCarron’s first NFL start

The Cincinnati Bengals couldn’t fully know what to expect from A.J. McCarron on Sunday in their Week 15 matchup with the San Francisco 49ers as he made his first NFL start. With Andy Dalton out with a hand injury, McCarron was thrust into the starting role and the question was how he would handle that role. As it turns out, Blaine Gabbert and the 49ers going up against the Cincinnati defense made that not matter quite as much.

McCarron only threw the ball 12 times in the first half as opposed to 19 rushing attempts and the Bengals still jumped out to a 21-0 lead before halftime thanks to a dominant performance by the defense. The backup Bengals quarterback did throw a touchdown pass to cap off the first half and Jeremy Hill added two scores on the ground, but it was the defense that shined in the first half to give Cincinnati a comfortable cushion and all of the momentum going into the final two quarters.

After a couple of decent drives pulled the 49ers back into the game, San Francisco looked to make things even more interesting late in the fourth quarter when they recovered an onside kick while trailing by only 10 points. However, the Cincinnati defense came up in the biggest moment to prevent any kind of comeback by picking off Gabbert and sealing a huge win in terms of trying to stay atop the AFC North.

Three Stars

A.J. McCarron wasn’t hugely prolific in this game, but this star isn’t even about his stats. How he performed in his first start to lead the Bengals to victory earns him recognition.

Jeremy Hill was actually largely unimpressive in terms of his overall production. The running back managed fewer than two yards per carry running the ball, but two rushing touchdowns punched in from one yard out is enough to have to give him his due.

Vontaze Burfict was huge for Cincinnati defensively on the road. The Bengals star finished with a sack, a tackle for loss, and an interception to go along with being one of the team’s leading tacklers.

Highlights

"First career rushing TD for @BruceMill49er! #CINvsSF https://t.co/1J2Bq2KWbV— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) December 20, 2015"

Odds

The Bengals were seven-point favorites coming into this matchup and covered the spread with the big win. The two teams, however, fell short of the 40.5-point O/U line.

Next Week

The Bengals will go on the road next week for a huge Monday Night Football matchup against the Denver Broncos

San Francisco will be on the road as well next week as they travel to Ford Field to take on the Detroit Lions.