The Bengals were ugly in their home opener. There is no way to sugarcoat it.
Every metric out there tells you that the Bengals were severely outplayed. The 49ers gained 572 total yards to the Bengals’ 316. The 49ers converted 27 first downs, while the Bengals only got 14. The 49ers bested the Bengals in third down conversions, red zone efficiency, and time of possession.
The Bengals poor performance came on the heals of an encouraging loss against the Seahawks. In Week 1, the Bengals looked new and improved. In Week 2, they looked like the squad that finished the 2018 season 1-9.