Dalton, Green send Baltimore to first 0-3 start
Duo teams up on late TD play, helping Cincinnati go to 3-0.
Thrust into a
BALTIMORE — familiar scenario, the Cincinnati Bengals performed as they had in the past.
So did the Baltimore Ravens, who find themselves in a position they’ve never been in before.
Andy Dalton threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to A.J. Green with 2:10 left, and the Bengals’ 28-24 victory Sunday left the Ravens at 0-3 for the first time in franchise history.
The Bengals (3-0) blew a 14-0 lead and twice trailed in the fourth quarter before Dalton brought them back by repeatedly picking apart the porous pass defense of Baltimore.
Dalton went 20 for 32 for 383 yards with three TDs and one interception. His favorite target was Green, who finished with 10 catches for a career-high 227 yards and two scores.
Coming back against the Ravens is nothing new for the Bengals, who rallied in the fourth quarter last season in both of their wins over Baltimore.
“Stay the course, ran our offense,” Green said. “It’s not our first rodeo. We’ve been down, last year, in the same situation. We didn’t flinch, man.”
Cincinnati has won four in a row in this AFC North rivalry for the first time. Five of the past six games have been decided by seven points or fewer.
The Ravens lost despite getting 362 yards passing from Joe Flacco (32of-49, one interception), who twice connected with Steve Smith for TDs. Smith had 13 catches for 186 yards, but it wasn’t enough to offset a miserable per- formance by the defense. Smith received intravenous fluids on the sideline in the fourth quarter.
Baltimore was the only existing NFL team never to start 0-3. Before this season, it had been a decade since the Ravens began with two straight defeats.
“It’s early in the season, but I’d rather be 3-0 here than where Baltimore is right now,” Bengals defensive end Carlos Dunlap said.