By Mark Curnutte
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Coming off a three-game road trip, capped by an 18-point loss at Baltimore, the Bengals breathed a sigh of relief upon coming home to face San Francisco.

But the 49ers are a dangerous opponent that could finish the Bengals' playoff hopes. Despite their 6-7 record, the 49ers are ranked in the top 10 in total offense and defense.

And though its history is as a passing team, San Francisco is ranked fourth in the league in rushing (142 yards a game) and eighth in rush defense (99.6 yards). It also is 10th in scoring (22.9 points) and tied for seventh in points allowed (18.8).

The 49ers have a healthy Jeff Garcia back at quarterback. He's coming off four touchdown passes and two TD runs in the 50-14 victory against Arizona last week. Garcia missed three games because of a sprained ankle.

"That looks like the Jeff Garcia I remember from a year ago," Bengals coach Marvin Lewis said Wednesday.

The Bengals (7-6) trail the Ravens (8-5) by one game in the AFC North. Baltimore's magic number to clinch the division title is three - any combination of victories and Bengals losses. The Ravens are at Oakland on Sunday.

The Bengals can't afford to lose at home, where they've won four in a row and will play the season finale Dec. 28 against Cleveland.

The 49ers are winless in six games away from San Francisco and have allowed an average of 27 points in those losses.

"We don't seem to play with the same excitement, the same flair that we do at home," Garcia said. "Often times we find ourselves getting down early, and all of the sudden the crowd is into it. All of the sudden we're compounding mistakes with more mistakes and turnovers."

The 49ers also have had problems with kickers missing field goals. Todd Peterson is their third kicker of the season. Jeff Chandler missed in a three-point overtime loss at St. Louis and was cut. Owen Pochman missed in a one-point loss at Seattle and missed two in a three-point, overtime loss at Arizona before getting released.

"They have somewhat fixed (the kicking game)," Lewis said. "They found a way, at some point, to lose games that they wish they could have back."

Though they have Garcia back, the 49ers will be without leading rusher Garrison Hearst, who is out with a right knee injury. In his place, though, the 49ers will start Kevan Barlow, who rushed for 154 yards on 18 carries last week against the Cardinals. He has 745 yards for the season and runs behind an offensive line that's getting healthier.

Of course, their big-play threat is wide receiver Terrell Owens, who has 955 receiving yards and eight touchdowns.

"He's strong, a big physical guy who makes big plays," said Bengals cornerback Tory James, who probably will be matched against Owens. "If we can stop big plays, we'll be all right."

Defensively, the 49ers have 34 sacks and 19 interceptions, led by safety Tony Parrish's seven.

"Speed and then their scheme, which changes its looks from game to game," Bengals quarterback Jon Kitna said when asked about the strengths of San Francisco's defense. "A lot of time from series to series they're changing their looks, so you can't just settle in and say, 'OK, they're giving us this, we'll call this.' You can't do that."

A victory against the 49ers keeps the Bengals in the playoff race. And the Bengals welcome the pressure.

"You want to have this kind of atmosphere," Lewis said of playing games in December with postseason implications. "You grow and mature through it."

E-mail mcurnutte@enquirer.com

Return to Bengals front page...