Bengals News (9/16): Defense won’t play blame game

Mixon on Bengals fans booing: ‘If they feel like they can do it better, then come try out’
“That’s definitely frustrating to see that,” said Mixon, who finished with 11 rushes for 17 yards. “We down 11 (points), I wanna say in the second quarter and then you see hella fans leaving and booing.

What we learned from Cincinnati Bengals blowout loss to San Francisco 49ers in NFL Week 2
Zac Taylor and the Cincinnati Bengals’ 2019 home debut got off to an inauspicious start. The Bengals began the game with a penalty, Andy Dalton taking a sack and a Joe Mixon fumble on consecutive plays. Things proceeded to go downhill fast from there.

Defense Vows To Stick Together
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 bound Seahawks in knots the week before.

What They Are Saying: Postgame Quotes From Coaches And Players
“That’s a loss that we need to own. We were not good in any phase. On defense, we didn’t tackle well enough. Offensively, we killed ourselves with penalties early on. We didn’t take advantage of the opportunities they gave us. We had a couple special teams miscues as well — some of those kickoffs got brought back by penalties.

Quick Hits: Mouth Shot; Zac's Priorities; Boyd, Ross Go For 100 As Run Game Search Continues
“I’m not surprised. Everybody wants to hit us in the mouth,” said Dunlap after Sunday’s jaw dropping 41-17 loss to the 49ers in the Paul Brown Stadium opener. “That’s what they should do. That’s what they want to do. And how we respond, we have to make more plays than they do and out execute them in the game plan and you’ve got a great chance of winning. We didn’t help ourselves in any of those aspects.”

Bengals Have No Answer For 49ers
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 when 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.

Bengals Wilt As 49ers Bring Heat
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 defense for more yards than they allowed last week as they stared at a 24-10 halftime deficit.

Gallery: 49ers vs Bengals | Week 2
Check out some of the best game action and fan photos from the Bengals' Week 2 contest against the San Francisco 49ers. Who Dey!

New Bengals plagued by familiar defensive woes in loss to 49ers
One week after a promising showing, the Bengals’ defense resembled the historically bad unit from last year in a 41-17 loss to the 49ers. In first-year coach Zac Taylor’s home debut, Cincinnati allowed 572 total yards that finished as one of the worst performances in franchise history. It was the fifth-highest total since the Bengals allowed 576 yards against Tampa Bay last season.

6 Bengals winners and losers after ugly loss in home opener
After a strong showing in Week 1 despite a loss, the Bengals came out flat and didn’t look like they wanted any part of the San Francisco 49ers in an 41-17 loss.

NFL Week 2: 49ers Blowout Bengals In Costly Victory
The San Francisco 49ers had it going big time Sunday afternoon against the Bengals in Cincinnati. Attempting to start a season 2-0 for the first time since 2013, the 49ers came out on top by the score of 41-17.

Around the NFL

Saints' Drew Brees suffers right hand injury vs. Rams
"I really don't know at this point," Brees told reporters after the game. "There is only so much you can do other than just [have] a doctor look at it on the sideline. I'm going to see a hand specialist and get his opinion and we will see what the next steps are."

Colts' Irsay: Adam Vinatieri's missed kicks 'a concern'
The 46-year-old kicker missed two extra points on Sunday, including one on Indy's go-ahead fourth-quarter touchdown. It was the second straight week in which Vinatieri had missed multiple kicks; he missed two field goals and an extra point in the Colts' overtime loss to the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 1, the first time in Vinatieri's career that he had missed two or more FGs and one or more PAT in the same game.

Dolphins' Flores: Ryan Fitzpatrick 'is still the starter'
Following Miami's 43-0 defeat to the rival New England Patriots, in which Ryan Fitzpatrick threw not one, but two pick-sixes, Dolphins coach Brian Flores told reporters that the journeyman would remain his starting quarterback -- for now.

What we learned from Sunday's Week 2 games
1. In a matchup dominated by field position and field goals, it's only fitting that beleaguered Bears kicker Eddy Pineiro nailed a 53-yard attempt to cap off a wacky sequence in the final minute. Joe Flacco converted a pair of fourth downs to set up a 7-yard touchdown to Emmanuel Sanders, bringing the Broncos within one point with just over half a minute remaining. Denver decided to go for the win with a two-point conversion, only to switch gears when Flacco was called for delay of game. A Buster Skrine offsides penalty on the PAT attempt put the ball back in the hands of Flacco, who dialed Sanders' number again for the two-point conversion and a 14-13 lead. That left just 31 seconds on the clock for Mitchell Trubisky, who benefitted from a questionable roughing the passer penalty on Bradley Chubb to keep the improbable comeback alive. Faced with fourth-and-15 a few plays later, Trubisky danced in the pocket, found Allen Robinson wide open over the middle and called timeout with just a second left to set up Pineiro's heroics.

Steelers' Big Ben, James Conner injured vs. Seahawks
Rudolph's second career pass was intercepted after a dropped pass by veteran wideout Donte Moncrief. Seattle converted a touchdown off of it. Overall the offense played better with the second-year QB but fell to the Seahawks, 28-26.