The Sports Xchange

BALTIMORE — The Cincinnati Bengals are used to some wild finishes in Baltimore.

The latest edition, however, will go down as one of the most memorable in the long-standing rivalry.

Cincinnati quarterback Andy Dalton found wide receiver A.J. Green with a go-ahead 7-yard touchdown in a wild fourth quarter as the Bengals kept the Ravens winless with a 28-24 victory Sunday.

Baltimore lost its distinction as the only existing NFL franchise that has never started 0-3. The undefeated Bengals have won four straight against the Ravens and sit atop the AFC North.

“It was a hard-fought win,” Bengals coach Marvin Lewis said. “The way the NFL is supposed to be. That’s a good football team that we came on top of today.”

Green caught 10 passes for 227 yards with two touchdowns. It was the second year in a row he came down with the game-winning score in the final minutes at M&T Bank Stadium.

“This isn’t our first rodeo,” Green said. “We are not going to flinch. That’s one of our mottos.”

Dalton shook off a costly turnover and completed 20 of 32 pass attempts for 383 yards with three touchdowns and an interception.

“The history in this series is that you’ve got to play all four quarters and we expect that,” Dalton said. “We never had a doubt that we weren’t going to come back and score.”

What we learned about the Bengals:

1. Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton suffered his first sack and interception of the season. He also had a pair of turnovers that later led to Ravens’ touchdowns. It is that type of uneven play that has caused some to wonder if Dalton could ever lead the Bengals to the Super Bowl. At the end of the day, though, Dalton made enough plays to win the game. And in his coaches’ and teammates’ eyes, that is all that matters. Dalton shook off his mistakes and completed 20 of 32 pass attempts for 383 yards with three touchdowns. Coach Marvin Lewis was happy how his fifth-year quarterback responded to the adversity and it’s hard to argue with the results. “He’s always learning and that’s the good thing about Andy Dalton,” Lewis said. Early in the second quarter, Dalton was facing an aggressive pass rush. Instead of forcing the ball downfield, he took the sack. If Dalton continues to play effectively, the Bengals will be a formidable team all season. “It’s the kind of start you always want to have and it says a lot about the people we have on this team,” Dalton said.

2. The Bengals’ pass rush was effective has been vital to their early-season success. Even though it didn’t record a sack against the Ravens, Cincinnati pressured quarterback Joe Flacco for much of the game and kept Baltimore scoreless in the first half. The Ravens went to no-huddle several times but the Bengals did an effective job adjusting. The secondary also managed a couple of solid plays. Cornerback Adam Jones had an interception that led to the Bengals’ second touchdown. Cincinnati held the Ravens to just 36 rushing yards. “I thought we did really well against the run,” defensive tackle Domata Peko said. “We stuffed the hell out of the run. We played great as a defense.”

3. Jeremy Hill was benched last week after a pair of fumbles against the Chargers. This opened the door for backup Giovani Bernard to get increased carries. The two split time against the Ravens’ dominant rush defense. Bernard led all carriers with 49 yards on 13 carries. Hill had just 21 yards on 12 carries. It appears that coach Marvin Lewis will stagger time between the two until one of them separates himself from the other. The Bengals are going need an effective running game to take some of the pressure off quarterback Andy Dalton. “We’re not content with what we have right now,” Hill said. “We have to keep on pounding and keep working.”

Etc.

–DT Brandon Thompson was active for the first time this season. He was a healthy scratch over the first two games. Thompson filled in for the injured Pat Sims and finished with two tackles.

–DT Pat Sims (hip) was held out of the game. He sustained the injury Week 2 against the Chargers. He was held out of practice last week. Sims’ status for Week 3 against the Chiefs is uncertain.

–WR A.J Green continues to haunt the Baltimore Ravens. He caught 10 passes for 227 yards with two touchdowns. It was the second year in a row he came down with the game-winning score in the final minutes at M&T Bank Stadium. “This isn’t our first rodeo,” Green said. “We are not going to flinch. That’s one of our mottos.

–QB Andy Dalton shook off a costly fumble and completed 20 of 32 pass attempts for 383 yards with three touchdowns, including the game winning strike to receiver A.J. Green with just over two minutes left. He also had an interception. “He’s always learning and that’s the good thing about Andy Dalton,” coach Marvin Lewis said.

–TE Tyler Eifert was targeted three times but could not come up with a catch — a rarity for him this season. On a fourth-and-goal in the second quarter against Baltimore, Eifert appeared to come down with a 2-yard score, but the play was ruled incomplete after a review. “I thought it was a touchdown, but I guess it wasn’t,” he said.