Neil Reynolds' Wraps Week 8

Sunday night's headline game between the Cincinnati Bengals and San Francisco 49ers served as a reminder of how quickly and dramatically things can change in the NFL.

Our calendars are just about to flip into November and the picture has changed for those two teams over the course of this past month. At the start of October, the Bengals were 1-3 and quarterback Joe Burrow was a sitting duck behind a poor offensive line; unable to move and protect himself due to the lingering effects of a summer calf injury. He looked a shadow of his former self.

The 49ers were a red-hot 5-0 with the statement-delivering 42-10 win over the Dallas Cowboys suggesting they were about to be the dominant force of this NFL season. Brock Purdy was on fire at quarterback and had no idea what it felt like to lose a regular season game.

Week 8 saw the Bengals record a 31-17 victory over the 49ers. And oh, how things have changed. Cincinnati have now won three in a row, while the 49ers have been hit by some key injuries and have now dropped three consecutive losses.

Sunday was the first time Joe Burrow looked like the star quarterback who lit up the league in the 2021 and 2022 seasons. Heading to San Francisco, the Bengals had the NFL's worst offense in terms of yards gained (256.3 per game) and Burrow had a quarterback rating of 79.8, placing him 27th among the NFL's passers.

But Burrow and the Bengals made a mockery of those numbers as he hit on 28 of 32 throws for 283 yards, three touchdowns, no interceptions and a rating of 134.8. The dazzling quarterback also suggested he is either back to full health or very close to it as he picked up 43 yards on six key scrambles.

The Bengals had multiple contributors during their big road win. Tyler Boyd and