The San Francisco 49ers completed their two-game road trip to start the season with a 41-17 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals. San Francisco's offense totaled 572 yards and scored five touchdowns in the team's victory. Here's what both locker rooms had to say following the matchup.
Niners Liners
Kyle Shanahan on taking control of the game on the first defensive drive of the day:
"I thought they got a lot of momentum back with our interception, I think it was on second-and-long. I thought their team came out playing well. I mean, I know we got that score with the big play to Marquise (Goodwin) early, but then they responded with that turnover. I thought our defense really stepped it up because they got that momentum there, and our defense got them on a 10-yard loss — I forget how — but then they missed that field goal. So, it was a chance to change momentum. We made a mistake and we got it back and went down and scored, and scored in the second quarter and scored in the opening drive of the third quarter, so when you whack people like that, it's nice."
Shanahan on feeling the rhythm as a play-caller:
"Yes, the more you're out there — it seemed like, for a while, we didn't have to call a third-down play — which means you're in first- or second-down, so that's going well, and that's the goal. You want that stuff to play off each other. When you get to third-down, everyone in the league is pretty one-dimensional, and when you're getting good plays on first and second, it kind of opens up everything."
Shanahan on Jimmy Garoppolo's comfortability in Week 2:
"Yes definitely. Everyone knows the ability Jimmy has and he's shown — it's not just felt. A guy with talent — a guy who's played in games and shown everyone he can play at a high level — the more he's out there, I'm sure the better he's going to get, even when he makes mistakes, as long as he learns from them. I know it really helped him out today just having a run game. It really helps you be balanced and takes the pressure off of him, takes a little pressure off the whole line in the pass game and it gets you some cleaner looks. I thought, as a team, they did a lot better, and Jimmy did too."
QB Jimmy Garoppolo on the importance of getting the run game going early:
"Yeah, the O-line got after them early, and they got after them often. It made everything easier when they own the line of scrimmage like that. The pass game, the run game — everything — those guys dominated up front. It just makes everything so much easier, so you've got to tip your hat to those guys."
Garoppolo on T Joe Staley's injury:
"It's tough. I just heard about the news, especially with the situation we were in — the game is kind of out of hand at that point — Joe goes down and it sucks. Especially with a guy like Joe. We'll be in good spirits, but it's tough."
Garoppolo on WR Deebo Samuel's physical play:
"Yeah, it's awesome. It's like having a running back at receiver once he gets the ball in his hands, but he can run routes at the same time. It's very unique. I love having him, and he's so raw and still has a long way to go. That's the exciting part."
CB Richard Sherman on what he's seen out of the 49ers offense in Week 2:
"I guess they answered any questions you guys had. We knew what they're capable of. Some games you have those games. This is the NFL — there's talent on both sides. As you saw, Tampa (Bay) played a good game on Thursday night. They played great defense, and their D-line was pretty stout. We knew what our offense was capable of. We knew what Kyle (Shanahan) was capable of, in terms of his play-calling and creativity. We obviously know what Jimmy is capable of, so we weren't really concerned. It's a team game. If the offense doesn't have their best game, the defense has to step it up. If the defense doesn't have their best game, the offense has to step up. Some games you both step it up, and you end up with a great result."
Sherman on his impressions of Shanahan's offense:
"Yeah, I'm always impressed with it. But we also deal with it in training camp and OTAs, with everything he presents. He's one of the best offensive minds in football, so we hold him to a pretty high standard, and he lives up to it. He's a guy that's going to give defenses trouble, and he did that again today."
RB Matt Breida on what clicked for with the 49ers offense in Week 2:
"I was saying all week that this is the first game we'll all actually be playing together since last year. We had some guys still knocking off some rust. I feel like we came out today and executed better than we did last week."
Breida on the running back rotation:
"It's going great. That was the plan all year. All of us are great running backs and all of us are starters."
Bengals Quotes
Head coach Zac Taylor on the Bengals biggest issues against the 49ers:
"On offense, it was the penalties early on. On defense, we need to tackle better. We couldn't stop the bleeding in the first half. They kept moving the ball. They rushed for a ton of yards — six yards per carry — that's tough. Especially the 49ers, they can run the ball on first and second down, then it opens up all the play-action screens and some of the things they can do to really keep you on your heels. Then it's tough to get pressure on the quarterback when they're reeling like that. When they can play with the lead, they're going to be a tough team to beat, and we gave them a lead early. On the first possession of the game, we were backed up because of a penalty. We didn't execute on the first two plays. Right off the bat we made mistakes, and then it was seven to nothing before we could get going. We just need to do better in all three phases, especially in the first quarter."
Taylor on the 49ers ground attack on Sunday:
"We need to tackle better. We need to get off blocks and we need to tackle better. They're a good rushing team. They invest a lot of time and energy (in rushing), and that's always been their forte. We need to do a better job of getting off blocks and making tackles."
QB Andy Dalton on the Bengals performance:
"Poor. It's not how we wanted to come out and play today. They took it to us today, and it's disappointing. It's not the team we have. It's not what we wanted to show today. And, we know it's not a representation of what we've got here. They deserve all the credit — they came here and hit us in the mouth. They had control of the game from the beginning, which is unfortunate because we felt going in that we had a good plan and were going to handle it very well. We just didn't get it done today."
DL Carlos Dunlap on the 49ers ability to take advantage of the Bengals defense:
"They challenged our eyes and leverage. All day."
DB Dre Kirkpatrick on how the 49ers offense challenged the Bengals defense:
"They got us a little off. They got us rattled today. We definitely could have communicated better and executed the plays better. For the most part, they played hard-nosed football and took it right to us today."
