Opening drive, rookie quarterback high points in Bengals’ opener

KANSAS CITY — Aside from a severely underthrown ball from Andy Dalton to Josh Malone, the Cincinnati Bengals’ first-team offense could fly back home feeling good about how things transpired in its opening series on Saturday night against the Kansas City Chiefs.

“Yeah, we moved the ball well,” quarterback Andy Dalton said in the locker room after the Bengals’ 38-17 loss in the teams’ first exhibition game. “Big thing in this league is converting on third down, and I think we had three third downs on that drive — all different distances — and we were able to convert.”

The 14-play, 75-yard touchdown drive was highlighted by a 26-yard pass to receiver Auden Tate, who used his 6-foot-5 frame to snag the ball over the top along the sideline.

Rookie running back Trayveon Williams capped off the drive by scoring the game’s first touchdown on a 1-yard run.

“They did a good job overcoming adversity,” first-year coach Zac Bengals safety Brandon Wilson, left, intercepts a pass intended for Chiefs wide receiver Byron Pringle in the first half Saturday night. But under new NFL rules, the play was reviewed and it was determined that Cincinnati’s Tony Lippett (39) interfered on the pass, erasing the turnover.

Taylor said of the offensive starters. “They were behind the sticks a couple of times with penalties and thirdand-longs, but they kept charging ahead.”

The Cincinnati defense was another story.

Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes made easy work of the Bengals’ first-team defense. He led the Chiefs on a seven-play, 83-yard drive that tied the score, completing all four of his passes for 66 yards.

“We need to finish

plays and tackle better,” Bengals defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo said. “We did a solid job in the run game, but overall it was not good enough.”

Jeff Driskel took over at quarterback on Cincinnati’s second offensive series. He had three drives that ended in punts, and the last possession ended on an interception as the first half expired .

Driskel finished 8 of 19 for 79 yards and the interception.

The quarterback Driskel is competing

with for the backup job, Ryan Finley, entered the game midway through the third quarter, and he clearly won Round One.

Finley connected on his first 10 pass attempts and led the Bengals to a touchdown in his second series. Overall, the rookie from North Carolina State completed 13 of 18 passes for 109 yards with one touchdown — a 10-yarder to running back Jordan Ellis — and one interception. The pick came on his last throw.