Bengals Lead Bills 17-10 at the Half

The Bills defense had to step up immensely in order for the Bills to even have a chance at winning today.  On the opening drive of the game, the Bills held the Bengals to just a field goal, even after allowing a 34 yard reverse by Marvin Jones that put the Bengals in field goal range.

On his first 3rd down as the Buffalo Bills starting quarterback Thad Lewis threw a 47 yard pass to T.J. Graham that brought the Bills into the red zone.  Three plays later, Lewis capped off the drive with a 3 yard quarterback keeper to put the Bills on top 7-3 early in the 1st quarter.  Lewis went 2 of 2, with 52 passing yards on the scoring drive.

The Bills defense surrendered another large play to Marvin Jones on the Bengals second drive, allowing a 42 yard screen pass from Andy Dalton.  The drive culminated with a spectacular 18 yard touchdown catch by A.J. Green over Da’Norris Searcy.

Offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett shared the wealth in the first quarter, giving both C.J. Spiller, Fred Jackson four carries and Tashard Choice was given the ball three times.

The Bills second drive went for 16 plays and 75 yards-with no points.  The Bills turned the ball over on downs after being stopped on four consecutive rushing attempts inside of the two yard line.  The Bengals offense made their third big play, with a 54 yard screen to receiver A.J. Green to bring them into Bills territory.  Four plays later, Giovanni Bernard caught a shovel pass from Dalton as he was evading the pass rush, and Bernard made a couple defenders miss en route to scoring a 20 yard touchdown.

The Bengals took just nine plays to march 98 yards following their defensive stand with their backs against their endzone.

A la RGIII, Lewis scrambled and broke Carlos Dunlap’s ankles with a quick shimmy that turned a potential sack into an eight yard gain.  The Bills 10 play, 45 yard drive ended with a 51 yard field goal by Dan Carpenter who improved to 11 made field goals on 12 attempts this season.  Carpenter’s field goal made the game 17-10 in favor of the Bengals.

The Bengals following drive resulted in a 47 yard interception by Jim Leonhard.  The Bills did not take advantage of the turnover created by their defense, going three and out.  With chants of “Moorman” echoing throughout Ralph Wilson Stadium, Brian Moorman made his first punt with the Bills after being released after just three games during the 2012 season, and pinned the Bengals offense on their one yard line.

At the end of the half, the Bengals are in front by seven points, thanks to stand out halves from A.J. Green and Marvin Jones.

Thad Lewis ended the first half of his second career NFL start by going 8 of 11 with 67 passing yards.