Bengals fans and Marvin Lewis may have parted ways with his 2007 performance!

Bengals fans honeymoon with Marvin Lewis has abruptly ended after having to sit through another disappointing and sub par season for the team and Coach Lewis.  Fans have seen a calamity of errors including 12 men on the field at a time, unprepared defensive schemes, horrible clock management, and simply poor game planning, but the lack of heart the team has played with down the stretch has been the final nail in the coffin for most Bengals fans. 

What we are seeing now is a team on the brink of reverting back to being a permanent laughing stalk of the NFL.  A team that can find solace year in and year out in the fact that they will be getting a top five draft choice.  A fan base that spends more time discussing which top five player we will draft each year rather than ever considering the payoffs as a remote possibility.

Which team do you think is the fluke, the 2005 Bengals playoff team or this years Bengals team?  As frightening as it is to Bengals fans, many of them are starting to realize that the real Bengals may have put their worst foot forward this year, and that this team is your real Cincinnati Bengals.  The 2005 Bengals playoff team was a bunch of over achievers that got lucky and so did their coaching staff.

Hill throws, runs for touchdowns in first NFL start

Quarterback Shaun Hill celebrates as the final first down is made in the fourth quarter, allowing the 49ers to run out the clock.  third quarterback was the charm for the San Francisco 49ers.  Shaun Hill passed for 197 yards and a touchdown and ran for another score in his first NFL start, and the 49ers beat the Cincinnati Bengals 20-13 last night.

Frank Gore rushed for a season-high 138 yards and Darrell Jackson had a season-high eight catches for 86 yards in a surprisingly effective San Francisco offense led by Hill, a six-year backup who only threw his first NFL passes last week after Trent Dilfer suffered a concussion.  With Alex Smith also sidelined, Hill was the only quarterback left in San Francisco -- and he improbably sparked the league's worst offense to the team's first home victory since opening week. Hill went 21 of 28 with a TD pass to Vernon Davis nine seconds before halftime.

Bengals prove they belong in the bottom of the NFL heap!

Bengals             13
49ers                 20

The Bengals once again showed the nation what they are made of in the 2007 season by losing to the San Francisco 49ers on national television.  The loss was the ninth loss of the season for the Bengals bringing the team’s record to 5-9, and proving once again why the 2007 season may go down as one of the most disappointing Bengals season of all time.

“Every time we lose it’s disappointing to me,” said Coach Lewis whose team was completely dominated in the third quarter.  The defense allowed the 49ers to have the ball for 12 more minutes than the Bengals had.  Frank Gore the 49ers running back was able to run for 100 yards for only the second time this season.  The 49ers converted 60 percent of their third-down attempts (9-of-15) which allowed them to consistently keep the ball away from the Bengals offense and Carson Palmer. 

What you need to know about tonight's Bengals-49ers game at Monster Park in San Francisco:

Overview:  Two teams that began the season with playoff hopes have been reduced to playing for pride. A Bengals victory gives them back-to-back wins for the first time since Dec. 10, 2006. San Francisco opened the season with two straight victories only to lose 10 of its next 11 games.

Scouting the Bengals:  Quarterback Carson Palmer hasn't thrown a touchdown pass in eight straight quarters, so it's important for the offense — and Palmer's confidence — that he gets back on track. Wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh (96) needs five catches to break the club's single-season receptions record of 100 set by Carl Pickens in 1996. Houshmandzadeh (966) also needs 34 yards to reach 1,000 for the second straight year. The defense has come on strong, allowing opponents an average of 270 yards (73.2 rushing) in the past five games.

Bengals blew a 21-0 fourth-quarter lead 11 years ago against a Steve Young-led team.

The last time the Bengals visited Monster Park at Candlestick Point was Oct. 20, 1996 — a day that will live in infamy in Cincinnati franchise lore.  The Bengals lost to San Francisco 28-21, blowing a 21-0 lead as 49ers quarterback Steve Young passed for two touchdowns and scored on a 15-yard run with 1:08 remaining.

It was the final game for Bengals head coach David Shula, who was replaced by offensive coordinator Bruce Coslet the next day.  Willie Anderson is a 12-year veteran offensive tackle now. But he was a rookie first-round draft pick from Auburn then.  "I remember me playing left tackle and shutting down (49ers defensive end) Chris Doleman," Anderson said. "That was my first start. I was all excited about shutting him out. Then I got killed the next week by (Jacksonville's) Clyde Simmons.

Tackle vows to return for his 13th season

Right tackle Willie Anderson knows Bengals coach Marvin Lewis considers it verboten to reveal specifics about injuries.  But when Anderson heard his 10-year-old son ask about Internet rumors predicting the end of his career, he decided it was time to set the record straight, even if it might draw the coach's wrath.  "My son asked me, 'Are you retiring?' " Anderson said yesterday. "He reads Web sites and fan comments."

So Anderson told reporters the right knee injury that has kept him out since the Oct. 21 game against the New York Jets is a bone bruise and second-degree medial collateral ligament sprain.  "I'm going to get in trouble, but I'm getting tired of people saying, 'Willie's done,' " Anderson said. "I had a bone bruise. That's what it was. It takes time to heal."  Anderson said he was injured when Bengals tight end Reggie Kelly accidentally hit the knee with his helmet after finishing a block against Seattle on Sept. 23.