The San Francisco 49ers will be traveling to Cincinnati to play the Bengals. It's a matchup of two teams looking to for a better season than their 2018 campaigns. And the two teams are dealing with different results from their week one performances.
The 49ers are coming off of a win where their defense pulled off a stellar effort in compensating for the offense's lack of production against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. And for the Bengals, they are a team whose offense put together some of the best numbers to start the season in their franchise's history, but fell just short against the Seattle Seahawks.
There's plenty to look forward to with this matchup of two young teams in the second week of the season. And here are four bold predictions for the game between the 49ers and the Bengals.
1. QB Jimmy Garoppolo will shake off his rough start
The San Francisco starting quarterback put together a rather average game against the Bucs. He completed 18 of his 27 passes for 166 yards and one touchdown to one interception (that went back for a touchdown). It wasn't bad but it wasn't great. Which isn't what the 49ers want out of someone who they tout as their franchise guy.
Look for him to bounce back with a strong effort in week two. He got some of his rust off of him in week one and had some impressive throws. Including a few that were called back (both of the George Kittle taken away because of penalties).
But expect week two to be a time where Garoppolo comes away with a solid performance.
2. QB Andy Dalton will be forced into mistakes
Last Sunday, the 49ers defensive front put Jameis Winston under constant duress. He threw three interceptions (almost picked off another two times) and was sacked three times including one that was a strip sack by Dee Ford.
Andy Dalton is coming off of a game in which he was sacked five times and fumbled the ball 0n his own. He put together a great effort as he completed 35 of his 51 passes for 418 yards and two touchdowns. However, his team fell short due to a lack of a run game and poor offensive line play.
Expect to see a lot of miscues by Dalton with the San Francisco pass rush coming in full force against him.
3. WR Deebo Samuel will have his breakout game
The rookie receiver provided the team with a good glimpse of what he can do during the preseason. He came away with six catches for 104 receiving yards and two carries for 59 rushing yards. That works out to 20.4 yards per touch; making him a phenomenal weapon to have in an offense.
Samuel should have his breakout in his second game of the season coming up. he found the end zone for the first time in his pro career with a two-point conversion against the Bucs. But he'll definitely find a few more scores against the Bengals where he gives the 49ers some touchdowns.
He'll likely continue to take over the majority of the receiver snaps and do well in his matchup against Dre Kirkpatrick.
4. RB Joe Mixon will bounce back from his week one performance
Mixon was held to only 10 yards on six carries and two catches for seven yards before leaving with an ankle injury in week one. It was an underwhelming game for one of the better young talents at running back.
But with his ankle being healed and him going against a 49ers team that's still struggling against the run, he should be able to find those lanes and get better production. He's the better back in running situations in comparison to Giovani Bernard. Plus he will assist Dalton better in cases where the defense stacks the line of scrimmage.
It will be an interesting matchup to unfold between the 49ers run defense and Joe Mixon. Expect to see some good numbers from the third-year back.
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