CINCINNATI (AP) — The onside kick tumbled one last time, right into the arms of A.J. Green. Cincinnati's Pro Bowl receiver pulled it close and covered it up, a modest finish to a game full of wild plays.
It provided a familiar ending, too.
Adam "Pacman" Jones returned Cleveland's first punt 81 yards for a touchdown on Sunday, and Andy Dalton tied his career high with three touchdown passes, leading the Bengals to a 34-27 victory in their one-sided rivalry.
The Bengals (1-1) have won 13 of the past 16 against the Browns (0-2), who got breakout performances from their rookie quarterback and running back but still couldn't get a win.
"It's a relief," Green said. "We had butterflies. We felt like we needed this one. Now we can just relax and go back to playing."
Like a lot of games in the intrastate series, this one came down to merely holding on.
Cleveland quarterback Brandon Weeden threw for 322 yards and a pair of touchdowns, rebounding from one of the worst debuts in NFL history — four interceptions against the Eagles and a 5.1 passer rating.
Trent Richardson became the first Browns rookie to run for 100 yards and score on a run and a pass in the same game, according to STATS LLC. The big day wasn't enough to stop Cleveland from falling to 0-2 for the fifth time in the past seven seasons.
"We're getting there," Weeden said. "The running game definitely takes a lot of pressure off of me. It helps when you run the ball."
Cincinnati improved to 42-36 in the 44-year series, the biggest lead by either team.
The Browns had linebacker Scott Fujita back after his three-game bounty suspension was overturned on appeal. Cleveland missed top cornerback Joe Haden, who served the first week of his four-game suspension for violating the league's policy on performance-enhancing substances. Cornerback Sheldon Brown also was out of the lineup with a shoulder injury.
Dalton took advantage of the depleted secondary by completing 24 of 31 for 318 yards with six sacks and an interception. Andrew Hawkins turned a short catch into a 50-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter that kept Cincinnati in control.
Dalton also threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Green and a 44-yarder to Brandon Tate, using all of his receivers.
"We've been saying all along that we've got a lot of guys with talent," Dalton said. "It was great getting them into the game and seeing them make the plays that they did."
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