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The San Francisco 49ers enjoyed one of their most dominating offensive performances since Kyle Shanahan took over as head coach in 2017, soundly defeating the Cincinnati Bengals on the road 41-17 in Week 2.

Just chew on these numbers from San Francisco's offense:

  • Running back Matt Breida: 121 rush yards, 10.1 yards per carry
  • 49ers rushing totals: 259 yards, 6.2 yards per carry
  • Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo: 17-of-25, 297 pass yards, three touchdowns, one interception, 131.2 passer rating
  • Third-down conversions: 5-of-9 (56 percent)

Shanahan's offense put on a clinic against a Bengals team, which allowed a mere 233 yards on the road against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 1. And while many of the Niners yardage totals came in the second half, long after the issue was no longer in doubt, it's pretty safe to say Shanahan got the full complement of what he wants out of his offense in Cincinnati.

Especially on creative plays, like this, which saw Garoppolo hit wide receiver Deebo Samuel for the rookie's first touchdown at the NFL level:


"He makes my job very easy," Garoppolo said of Shanahan after the game. "His mind, it's incredible. It's how he thinks. He's always two plays ahead. We're running a current play, and he makes everything so easy.

"When he gets into a rhythm like that, it puts everyone into a good position."

Garoppolo and the 49ers offense came under some scrutiny despite their Week 1 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, which saw San Francisco's quarterback toss just 166 yards and the offense being forced to rely heavily on four Niners defensive takeaways.

And while the Bengals allowed more yardage than any other team in 2018, first-year head coach Zac Taylor showed some fight on both sides of the ball last week in Seattle. Those efforts simply don't go away, even though the Niners dominated on both sides of the ball Sunday.

"I feel like a lot of teams around the league didn't have a great Week 1," Breida added. "We came out and made our big improvements from Week 1 to Week 2. I feel like we did that. We knocked off the rust and we were able to execute today."

In total, San Francisco managed 572 yards of offense, while limiting Cincinnati to 316.

"I'm always impressed with him," cornerback Richard Sherman said of Shanahan's efforts. "We also deal with it in training camp and OTAs, and deal with every look you can present. But he's one of the best offensive minds in football.

"We hold him to a pretty high standard, and he lives up to it."
  • Peter Panacy
  • Written by:
    Peter Panacy has been writing about the 49ers since 2011 for outlets like Bleacher Report, Niner Noise, 49ers Webzone, and is occasionally heard as a guest on San Francisco's 95.7 FM The Game and the Niners' flagship station, KNBR 680. Feel free to follow him, or direct any inquiries to his Twitter account.

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