6 takeaways from much-needed 49ers victory vs. Bengals

Now that the dust has settled a bit from a crazy #49ers win over the Bengals — we have some thoughts.

The 49ers needed a win in Cincinnati. There weren’t a ton of roads to a playoff berth had they lost, and the road to the postseason opened significantly wider if they got out of there with a win. They pulled out a 26-23 overtime victory in a contest that could’ve done permanent damage had they lost.

San Francisco led by 14 in the fourth quarter, and in the fourth quarter and overtime allowed 17 unanswered points to fall behind 23-20 with time waning in the OT period. It wasn’t a pretty victory, but the Ws count all the same, especially in a crowded NFC wild card race.

Let’s run through some takeaways from whatever the heck happened in Cincinnati on Sunday: