The Sports Xchange
Oct 8, 2017
CINCINNATI -- Andy Dalton passed for 328 yards and A.J. Green had 189 receiving yards and a touchdown, lifting the Cincinnati Bengals to a 20-16 victory over the Buffalo Bills on Sunday at Paul Brown Stadium.
Tyrod Taylor was 22 of 36 for 166 yards with a touchdown and an interception for Buffalo (3-2), which missed a chance to go 4-1 for the first time since 2011.
Cincinnati (2-3) was the first team this season to score more than 17 points against the Bills. They sacked Taylor six times.
Remnants of Tropical Storm Nate resulted in soggy conditions throughout Sunday's game, and there were several dropped passes by both teams.
Buffalo had only allowed four touchdowns through four games, but the Bengals had some big plays against them on Sunday.
On the first play of the Bengals' second possession, Dalton connected with Green down the right sideline for a 77-yard touchdown to put them ahead 7-0. Green beat Buffalo cornerback Tre'Davious White for his third TD of the season.
Green had three catches for 99 yards and a touchdown on the first two possessions.
Cincinnati sacked Taylor twice in the first quarter, but he led the Bills on a 10-play, 72-yard drive that resulted in a 31-yard Stephen Hauschka field goal. It was the first points scored in the first quarter this season by Buffalo.
A roughing the passer penalty on Bills defensive end Jerry Hughes helped set up a 30-yard field goal by Randy Bullock to make the score 10-3.
Micah Hyde's fourth interception of the season on a tipped pass out of Green's hands set the Bills up at Cincinnati's 36-yard line.
Brandon Tate, a former Bengal, caught a 12-yard pass for a touchdown to tie the score 10-10 with 3:10 left in the half. The drive was kept alive by Taylor, who scrambled away from pressure to complete a third-down pass.
Early in the second half, an interception by safety Jordan Poyer on a pass that went in and out of Green's hands, gave the Bills possession at the Bengals' 36. However, a holding penalty moved Buffalo out of field-goal range, and the Bengals forced a punt.
Cincinnati's third turnover was a fumble by Green after a 20-yard completion, forced by a hard hit from linebacker Lorenzo Alexander and recovered by Poyer. That set up a 38-yard field goal by Hauschka to put Buffalo ahead 13-10 with 1:54 left in the third quarter.
Green redeemed himself with a 49-yard catch to set up running back Joe Mixon's first career touchdown run, giving the Bengals a 17-13 lead early in the fourth quarter.
Buffalo cut the lead to 17-16 on a 28-yard field goal set up by a 40-yard punt return by Brandon Tate.
Bullock's 28-yard field goal with 3:33 left made the score 20-16.
Safety George Iloka's interception of Taylor was the Bills' first turnover since their first possession of the season.
NOTES: WR A.J. Green's 189 receiving yards for the Bengals are the most against the Bills since Wes Welker had 217 in 2011. ... Buffalo, already down to four healthy receivers, lost TE Charles Clay to a knee injury in the first half. ... Cincinnati lost CBs Adam Jones and Dre Kirkpatrick to injuries in the first half. ... Bills starting RG John Miller was a surprise healthy scratch. Vlad Ducasse started in his place. ... The Bengals have at least one sack in a league-leading 34 straight games.