The San Francisco 49ers (1-0) will be on the road for the second consecutive week to start the season when they visit the Cincinnati Bengals (0-1) in a near pick’em matchup. The 49ers are coming off an impressive 31-17 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as 1-point road underdogs in Week 1, and they have not won their first two games since 2012.
San Francisco 49ers vs Cincinnati Bengals (Matchup Report)
Date/Time: September 15, 1 p.m. ET
TV Coverage: FOX
Sportsbook Odds: San Francisco -2.5 | O/U 45 (Line History)
Sportsbook Odds Analysis
Early action has come in on the host Bengals, who played the Seattle Seahawks extremely tough in a 21-20 loss as 9.5-point road underdogs in their season opener. Cincinnati quarterback Andy Dalton threw for a career-high 418 yards, and bettors have taken notice.
San Francisco News & Notes
San Francisco quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo was not overly impressive in his return to action at Tampa Bay after missing almost all of the 2018 campaign with a torn ACL. Garoppolo threw for just 166 yards on 18-of-27 passing with one touchdown and one interception, but fortunately Jameis Winston was much worse for the Buccaneers with three picks while getting sacked three times for 20 yards.
Defensively, the 49ers turned in an outstanding effort, returning two interceptions for touchdowns to help the team overcome its lackluster offensive performance. They will need to play better offensively to win again here vs the Bengals, although running back Tevin Coleman is out with a sprained ankle, putting more pressure on fellow running back Matt Breida and Garoppolo to come through.
Cincinnati News & Notes
Dalton has been a Jekyll-and-Hyde player throughout his NFL career as he begins his ninth year with the Bengals. He kept them in the game at Seattle thanks to the emergence of wide receiver John Ross, who had a career-high 158 yards on seven catches, including two touchdowns.
Ross, the team’s first-round draft pick in 2017, had 21 career receptions going into the season opener and was viewed as a bust before breaking through against the Seahawks. First-year head coach Zac Taylor deserves some kudos for nearly pulling off a big upset at Seattle in his first game, but he will need to lead his team to a victory here to show that was not a fluke. This is definitely a winnable matchup with a weak offensive opponent.
Betting Pick
Without two defensive touchdowns, San Francisco could have lost to a bad Tampa Bay team last week. Cincinnati’s offense will be too much and reward the team’s backers.
- San Francisco is 1-9 SU and 3-7 ATS in its last 10 September road games.
- Cincinnati is 7-3 ATS in its last 10 September home games.
- The favorite is 2-7-1 ATS in the past 10 meetings.
