Give the Bengals defense this. They didn’t hold their ground during Sunday’s 41-17 loss to the 49ers that shocked a Paul Brown Stadium opener crowd expecting to see the same crew that tied the play-off Seahawks in knots the week before. But they did stand up in the locker room after it was over and called themselves out. “It’s a new year, a new day. That wasn’t us out there. We have to go out there and play a whole different way. Today, we have to own that,” said left end Carlos Dunlap. “We know who we are this year. We’ve worked too hard to change the culture and create a new identity for ourselves.”

Head coach Zac Taylor said they got hit in the mouth. Quarterback Andy Dalton said they got hit in the mouth. Both defensive ends, Carlos Dunlap and Sam Hubbard, said the Bengals got hit in the mouth in Sunday's Paul Brown Stadium opener. ... Tyler Boyd and John Ross had the first tandem 100-yard days by Bengals wide receivers in six years ... Ross now has more yards this season than he had in his career coming into 2019 ...  

As impressive as the Bengals were in last Sunday’s opener in Seattle playing complementary team football, they struggled during Sunday’s Paul Brown Stadium on both sides of the ball. The offense couldn’t bail out the defense in the face of San Francisco’s 500-yard onslaught in just three quarters on a relentless 52 plays that the 49ers brought into the fourth quarter they finished off a 41-17 victory.

As impressive as the Bengals were in last Sunday’s opener in Seattle, they struggled in the first half of Sunday’s Paul Brown Stadium opener with five penalties, a punch-less running game that garnered just 18 yards and the 49ers’ creative, clever offense that rocked the Bengals defense for more yards than they allowed last week as they stared at a 24-10 halftime deficit.