The Cincinnati Bengals (2-2) came from behind to defeat the Buffalo Bills (3-1) by a score of 23-20 on a 43-yard field goal by kicker Mike Nugent as time expired on the clock, but the star of the game was rookie wide receiver A.J Green.
It says in the Bible, “He who lives by the sword, dies by the sword” and after the Bills set an NFL record the past two weeks as the only team in NFL history to come back from 18+ point deficits in back-to-back games, they were on the receiving end of a second half turnaround this week.
The Bills built up a 17-3 halftime lead on the strength of two interceptions of Andy Dalton passes on consecutive series. The first interception was run back 43 yards for a TD by Bryan Scott. The second interception by safety George Wilson set up a 2-yard TD run by Fred Jackson on a series that included 21-yard and 9-yard runs by Jackson and a 44-yard pass from Ryan Fitzpatrick to Stevie Johnson.
The second half was all Bengals, as they outscored the Bills 20-3 down the stretch. Bengals rookie quarterback Andy Dalton finished the day 18 for 36 for 298 yards, 1 TD and 2 INT, but was much stronger in the second half. Cedric Benson had 104 yards rushing.
But the offensive star for the Bengals was number four overall draft pick A.J. Green, who finished the day with four receptions for 118 yards, averaging almost 30 yards per catch. Green had two spectacular leaping catches – one for 58 yards in the second quarter and one for 40 yards in the third quarter.
Green show glimpses of what he was capable of in week two, when the Bengals fell to the Denver Broncos 22-24. Green had 10 receptions for 124 yards and a TD, and currently has 312 yards and 3 TDs through 4 games.
The Bills (3-1) will try to bounce back next week as they return home to host Michael Vick and the Philadelphia Eagles, while the Bengals (2-2) go to Jacksonville next week to face the Jaguars in a face off of rookie quarterbacks Andy Dalton and Blaine Gabbert.
