TIME: 4:25 p.m. Sunday
PLACE: Levi's Stadium (grass)
LOCAL RADIO: Dan Hoard (play-by-play) and Dave Lapham (analyst) led by "triple cast," Cincinnati flagship stations WLW-AM (700), WCKY-AM (ESPN 1530) and WEBN-FM (102.7) on the 41-station Bengals radio network.
NATIONAL RADIO: USA Radio with Larry Kahn (play-by-play), John Robinson (analyst), Troy West (sideline).
TV: CBS broadcast crew of Spero Dedes (play-by-play), and Solomon Wilcots (analyst). Channel 12 in Cincinnati, Channel 7 in Dayton, Ohio, and Channel 27 in Lexington, KY.
INJURIES
CIN:
OUT:Starting QB Andy Dalton (thumb), starting TE Tyler Eifert (concussion), starting S George Iloka (groin), Backup RT Jake Fisher (concussion). PROBABLE:Starting CB Adam Jones (foot), now boot-less, went limited Wednesday and Thursday and full Friday after missing all last week in a cast and walking boot. Starting RE Michael Johnson (back) went full Friday after missing Wednesday and going limited Thursday. Slot CB Leon Hall (back) went full on Friday after being limited Thursday after not working Wednesday.
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SFO:
OUT: Starting LG Alex Boone (knee), starting ILB Michael Wilhoite (ankle)
QUESTIONABLE:Starting WR Torrey Smith (back/toe) went limited Friday after sitting Wednesday and Thursday.
THE SERIES
The 4-9 49ers lead the 10-3 Bengals, 11-3; 7-1 in San Francisco; 0-0 at Levi's Stadium
NOTEWORTHY
»» With a victory the Bengals can clinch their fifth straight postseason berth, sixth in seven years, and seventh in head coach Marvin Lewis' 13 seasons.
»» The Bengals can lose and still qualify for the playoffs if the Jets lose in Dallas Saturday night or if the Chiefs lose in Baltimore Sunday.
»» The Bengals can clinch their second AFC North title in three years and fourth under Lewis with a victory coupled with a Pittsburgh loss to visiting Denver in Sunday's 4:25 p.m. game.
»» For the third time Lewis is coaching a quarterback making his first NFL start and all have come on the road. Dalton won his debut in Cleveland on Sept. 11, 2011, and Carson Palmer lost to the Jets in the Meadowlands on Sept. 12, 2004.
»» McCarron is the 28th starting quarterback in Bengals' history. Dalton, John Stofa (1968), Greg Cook (1969), John Reaves (1975), Boomer Esiason (1984), Dave Walter (1987), Akili Smith (1999), and Jon Kitna (2001) all won their starting debuts for the Bengals.
»» The Niners can line up a Cincinnati prep all-star team. Backup DT Tank Carradine (Taft), backup TE Garrett Celek, and starting RB Carlos Hyde played one year at Princeton High School before moving to Naples, Fla. Celek and Hyde are on injured reserve.
»» 49ers starting outside LB Ahmad Brooks, the only Bengal selected in the supplemental draft (third round in 2006), played 13 games during two seasons in an injury-plagued stretch in Cincinnati before playing the next seven seasons in 'Frisco and going to the Pro Bowl after the 2012 season. Sunday is his 81st NFL start.
»» 49ers backup WR Jerome Simpson, a second-round Bengals draft pick in 2008, is working on his second team since he left after four seasons and has five catches for 54 yards and a TD this year.
»» The late Bill Walsh, the 49ers Hall of Fame head coach, began his NFL career in Cincinnati as Bengals founder Paul Brown's passing game guru. The Niners established the Bill Walsh minority coaching internship and Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis, along with offensive coordinator Hue Jackson and defensive line coach Jay Hayes, participated in the program.
NFL RANKINGS
CIN: 4th in scoring, 6th in offense (14th rushing, 9th passing); 2nd in scoring defense, 10th in defense (9th rushing, 17th passing), T-5thth in turnover margin at plus-six.
SFO: 32nd in scoring, 32nd in offense 21st rushing, 30th passing); 19th in scoring defense, 30th in defense (31st rushing, 27th passing), T-14th in turnover margin at even.
COACHES
CIN: Marvin Lewis 110-99-2 in 13th season, 1-2 vs. 49ers.
SFO: Jim Tomsula 4-9 in first season, 0-0 vs. Bengals and Lewis.
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PHILIP RIVERS WEATHER UPDATE
The National Weather Service in Wilmington, Ohio is calling for partly sunny skies and a high of 57 degrees with a kick-off temperature in the mid-50s. There is a 20 percent chance of a light shower but nothing heavy. Winds out of the south and east at three to six miles per hour.
NUMBERS GAME
24-40 - Bengals road record under head coach Marvin Lewis before 2011
24-14 - Bengals road record since 2011 drafting of QB Andy Dalton
7-3 - Bengals road record in December since 2011
10 - Draft pick used by Jags to select 49ers starting QB Blaine Gabbert in 2011
35 - Draft pick used by Bengals to select Dalton in 2011 draft
7 - NFL wins for Gabbert
50 - NFL wins for Dalton
164 - Draft pick used by Bengals to draft Sunday's starting QB AJ McCarron in 2014
36 - Career passes for McCarron
36 - Passes Gabbert threw three weeks ago when he outdueled Arizona's Carson Palmer (318 yards to 271) but lost, 20-13
1-4 - Gabbert vs. AFC North
32-17-2 - Lewis' record vs NFC
11-8 - Lewis' road record vs. NFC
9 - Interceptions by 49ers
8 - NFL-leading interceptions by Bengals S Reggie Nelson
1 - Interception Nelson needs to break club's record for most by a safety in a season (David Fulcher, 1989)
6 - 49ers rushing TDs
8 - Bengals RB Jeremy Hill's rushing TDs
22 - Sacks by 49ers defense this season
23 - Sacks allowed by Bengals this season
4 - TD catches 49ers WR Anquan Boldin has in six games vs. Bengals
9 - Career TD catches for 49ers WR and2008 second-round Bengal Jerome Simpson
15 - Career TD catches for 2012 fifth-round Bengals WR Marvin Jones
3 - QBs Bengals WR A.J. Green connected for a TD (Dalton, Gradkowski, McCarron)
4 - QBs Bengals all-time leading receiver Chad Johnson connected for a TD (Kitna, Frerrote, Palmer, Fitzpatrick)
