Giants, Bills both lose in preseason openers

The New York Giants lost to the Cincinnati Bengals in their preseason opener on Friday night while the Buffalo Bills were defeated by the Carolina Panthers at Ralph Wilson Stadium.

ORCHARD PARK >> Joe Webb’s short pass to running back Brandon Wegher led to a 42- yard touchdown with 54 seconds left and Carolina won it on a 2-point conversion.

The Panthers’ thirdstring quarterback hit Paul Browning for the 2-pointer to seal the vic- tory, as coach Ron Rivera went for the win rather than have an exhibition game decided in overtime.

The loss spoiled new Bills coach Rex Ryan’s first game at Ralph Wilson Stadium. Fired by the New York Jets at the end of last season, he was hired by Buffalo to replace Doug Marrone, who stepped down abruptly on Dec. 31.

The Bills were in a posi- tion to win after EJ Manuel put them ahead 24-17 by hitting receiver Deonte Thompson in stride for a 51-yard touchdown late in the third quarter.

BENGALS 23, GIANTS 10

CINCINNATI >> Andy Dalton completed all three of his passes, and the Bengals’ starting offense was impressive in its only drive. Dalton was 3 for 3 for 31 yards, including a 3-yard touchdown pass to Mohamed Sanu. Coach Marvin Lewis decided that was enough, resting his starting offense after only 2 minutes, 55 seconds on the field.

Dalton had completions of 12, 16 and 3 yards, and Jeremy Hill ran twice for 15 yards.