The Good, the Bad and the Ugly: 5 Takeaways from Week 14

The 49ers bounced back from public humiliation in Seattle to defeat the Bengals.

The excitement is over the roof after the road win in Cincinnati, because the 49ers escaped and kept their playoff hopes alive. Here are the top five takeaways from their 26-23 overtime win over the Bengals.

Taunting penalties make things worse.

The league promised to police the on-field behavior this season. Adding too many complexities to a game proved costly on Sunday. After the Bengals successfully halted the 49ers last drive of the first half, their defense was rewarded with the taunting penalty against Vonn Bell.

The incident did not warrant a penalty to the naked eye, but the officials decided otherwise. That penalty changed the outcome of the game. Had the officials not thrown the flag, the 49ers would have kicked the field goal, which is a 4 point difference.

Later in the game, Jaquiski Tartt's actions were not penalized. It is ridiculous to understand the logic behind the inclusion of new rules which are ambiguous. The judgment of the call is based on the individual official, and football has questionable calls every game that you can argue both ways.

The NFL should reevaluate the taunting penalties this offseason to avoid teams left wondering whether the rule robbed them.

Secondary has another challenging game.

Ja'Marr Chase continued to have issues with catching the football, but managed to make a massive impact on the game even with occasional drops. 

Ambry Thomas was beaten soundly by faster wide receivers and had to recover to make plays. Talanoa Hufanga was a culprit too, where the receivers got the better of him without too much effort.

The 49ers do not have any quality replacements to bring on board.

Converting 3rd downs is a key issue.

The 49ers converted only 4 out of 14 vital 3rd downs. The team is 24th in the league on 3rd down conversion rate, which is a primary reason for offensive struggles. With the limited ability of the quarterback to push the ball down the field, the team relies heavily on other playmakers to carry the team over the line every given Sunday.

Last year, the Chicago Bears made it to the playoffs with an 8-8 finish but did not have any firepower to threaten the Saints in the Wild Card round.

If the 49ers are determined to chase the Super Bowl dream with a veteran quarterback, they must figure out how to continue their drives more consistently.

Azeez Al-Shaair

Nick Bosa was a well-known commodity who proved his worth this season. The new hero of the 49er defense is Azeez Al-Shaair. He outplayed Fred Warner this season. Al-Shaair is seen everywhere in the field, which reminded the chant of Ted Lasso: "He's here! He's there! He's every-f—ing-where!"

Al-Shaair is a pure joy to watch this season with his ability to make plays. He is a hard tackler and stays with the given assignments with rare mistakes. He left the game in the 3rd quarter, and on Monday, Kyle Shanhan said Al-Shaair suffered an elbow sprain.

If he misses games due to the injury, the defense will struggle.

The team stays middle in the pack.

The record improved to 7-6 but do not fool yourselves thinking that 49ers are ready to go all the way into February. The Bengals showed how well they studied the 49ers during the week before the game. Their special teams cloned the skills of 49ers, fumbled the ball, dropped punts and kickoffs in one of the frustrating special team outings of the year.

The 49ers grabbed the chances that came their way to score a mere 20 points. The team scored only a field goal in the entire second half. The individual brilliance of George Kittle, Brandon Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel kept the 49ers nose just above the water. The contest should have been put beyond the reach of the Bengals at the beginning of the 2nd half, but Garappolo missed Kyle Juszczyk wide open near the goal line.

You can enjoy the win, but the facts remain the same. The fan base is in heaven until they realize ignorance is the worst enemy.