CINCINNATI – Andy Dalton threw four touchdown passes in the first half — three to A.J. Green — against a defense that has bedeviled him throughout his career, and the Cincinnati Bengals held on for a 34-23 victory over the Baltimore Ravens on Thursday night.
Dalton knocked the Ravens (1-1) out of playoff contention last season by throwing a 49-yard touchdown pass in the closing seconds of the final game in Baltimore. On Thursday, he sliced and diced a defense that has more often gotten the upper hand in their AFC North rivalry, leading Cincinnati (2-0) to an early 21-point lead .
Heading into the game, Dalton had thrown more interceptions (17) than touchdowns (15) against the Ravens, including a four-interception game at Paul Brown Stadium last season. Dalton finished 24-for-42 for 265 yards, throwing four touchdown passes for the fifth time in his career.
Green set the tone with touchdown catches of 4, 28 and 7 yards on consecutive possessions. Upset that he fumbled twice during a win at Indianapolis on Sunday, he caught everything near him during the Bengals' early surge. Green finished with five catches for 69 yards.
Dalton's 14-yard touchdown throw to Tyler Boyd made it 28-7 late in the first half.
Joe Flacco was sharp in an opening 47-3 win over the Bills but couldn't do anything against Cincinnati until the Bengals led by three touchdowns. Flacco threw a pair of touchdown passes , including a 21-yarder to John Brown that cut it to 28-23 with 9:35 left.
Flacco fumbled with 2:42 to go — Shawn Williams stripped the ball from behind — setting up a field goal by Randy Bullock that closed it out. He finished 32-for-55 for 376 yards with two touchdowns, two interceptions and four sacks.
The Ravens ended a streak of five Thursday night wins.
