Bengals hold on to beat Ravens 34-23 behind three A.J. Green touchdowns

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Andy Dalton tossed four first half touchdowns – three to A.J. Green – in building a 28-7 first half advantage only to need to hold off a furious rally by the Baltimore Ravens on Thursday night.

Bengals safety Shawn Williams forced a fumble of Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco with just under three minutes to play. Dre Kirkpatrick recovered the loose ball and the Bengals added a 40-yard Randy Bullock field goal to put the game out of reach and earn a 34-23 victory.

After an opening three-and-out, the Bengals pushed the ball into the end zone on four straight possessions in building a 28-7 lead. Dalton connected with Green three times and added a fourth to Tyler Boyd in building the early advantage.

Dalton completed 24 of 42 passes for 265 yards and four touchdowns on the night. Joe Mixon had 84 rushing yards on 21 carries before being sidelined with a knee injury.

However, the Ravens would score a late first half touchdown on a 1-yard touchdown pass from Joe Flacco to Mark Andrews to close the deficit to 28-14 before the break.

A 55-yard Justin Tucker field goal and 21-yard touchdown pass from Flacco to John Brown drew the Ravens within five, 28-23, with just under 10 minutes remaining. But that would be as close as the Ravens would get. Bullock converted a 28-yard field goal to make it an eight-point game and the 40-yard kick after Flacco’s fumble sealed the deal.

Flacco was intercepted twice and lost the fumble late to account for all three Ravens turnovers. He finished with 365 yards and two touchdowns with 31 completions on 54 attempts. The Bengals held the Ravens to just 66 rushing yards on the night. Baltimore also turned the ball over on downs twice in Cincinnati territory on the night.