Bengals 23, Ravens 16
A.J. Green scored on a 77-yard circus catch in the fourth quarter and the Cincinnati defense came up with a pair of big plays to withstand a furious comeback for a road win in the opener against Baltimore.
The Ravens (0-1) rallied from a 15-point halftime deficit and took a 16-15 lead with 2:43 left in the game on an 80-yard TD pass from Joe Flacco to Steve Smith. The Bengals (1-0) came right back when Dalton found Green open down the right sideline and, after Green bobbled the ball up in the air, he corralled it and ran the final 25 yards for the score. Flacco got Baltimore into the red zone with a minute to play, but the Bengals recorded sacks on third and fourth downs to preserve the victory.
Dalton threw for 301 yards and no interceptions in his first road win against Baltimore and Green finished with 131 yards on six catches for the Bengals, who had dropped four straight road games in the series. Flacco rebounded from a poor first half to throw for 345 yards with a TD and an interception and Smith finished with seven catches and 118 yards.
Mike Nugent connected from 49 and 22 yards in the first quarter and 28, 46 and 38 in the second to build a 15-0 lead. Baltimore had a chance to close the gap but Flacco took a sack as time expired while scrambling inside the Bengals' 10 yard line instead of throwing it away and preserving a field goal chance.
After Flacco threw an interception in the third period, Baltimore finally got on the board when Justin Forsett capped an 82-yard drive with a 13-yard TD run with 2:20 left in the third. Justin Tucker added a 38-yard field goal.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Bengals TE Tyler Eifert, who had three catches for 37 yards in the first half, left in the first quarter with a knee injury and LB Vontaze Burfict left in the second with a head injury. … Ravens RB Bernard Pierce's second-quarter fumble, the first of his career, set up Nugent's third field goal. … The Ravens at halftime honored retired LB Ray Lewis, who had a statue unveiled Thursday outside M&T Bank Stadium.