Watson runs for TD, leads Texans over Bengals 13-9 in debut

 Deshaun Watson showed up in a black tuxedo for his first NFL start. From his snazzy bowtie to his game-turning scramble, he did it all his style.

The rookie ran 49 yards for a touchdown and led the Houston Texans' depleted offense to a late clinching field goal in a 13-9 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals on Thursday night.

"I was just trying to make a play, I found a hole and broke away," he said.

Yes, it was that easy.

Watson showed up in a black tuxedo - it was his 22nd birthday, no less - and showed the flash that helped him lead Clemson to a national title last season. He avoided the rush and ran 49 yards for a 10-3 lead late in the first half, dashing past befuddled defenders.

Some birthday.

"The first start on my birthday was pretty emotional," said Watson, wearing a Texans T-shirt to his postgame media availability.

The Texans (1-1) got the most out of their depleted offense, and then let their defense do the rest. The Bengals (0-2) have failed to score a touchdown in their two games to open a season for the first time in their 50 seasons.

The Bengals are the first team since the 1939 Eagles to open a season with two home games and fail to get in the end zone, according to information from the Elias Sports Bureau shared by ESPN.

"I am shocked," coach Marvin Lewis said.

Watson led a 13-play drive that set up Ka'imi Fairbairn's 42-yard field goal with 1:56 left. The Bengals got the ball, but turned it over near midfield on a fourth-down completion. After a punt, they ran one more play with 2 seconds left that didn't get far.

Cincinnati lost to the Ravens 20-0 at Paul Brown Stadium on Sunday, the first time in their history that they opened the season blanked at home. Andy Dalton threw four interceptions and lost a fumble.

The Bengals managed only three field goals by Randy Bullock on Thursday. Dalton fell to 1-6 career against the Texans, including a pair of playoff losses. He was 20 of 35 for 224 yards with three sacks.

"Very surprised," receiver A.J. Green said. "We practice well, but when it comes to the game, we're out of character. I don't know what we're doing out there."

Watson directed an offense missing three tight ends because of concussions, along with receiver Will Fuller Vand guard Jeff Allen. The Texans kept it simple, and Watson avoided the game-turning mistake despite heavy pressure from the Bengals.

Watson was 15 of 24 for 125 yards with three sacks and no interceptions. He ran five times for 67 yards. Watson became the first rookie quarterback to win his first start on the road in a prime-time game since the Eagles' Joe Webb in 2010, according to Elias.

The Bengals became the first team that opened the season with five scoreless quarters since the 2009 Rams, who went 1-15.

They thought they finally had a touchdown when Tyler Eifert caught a pass from Dalton in the end zone in the third quarter - the videoboard broke into a touchdown song - but the tight end had stepped out of bounds before making the catch, nullifying it. Cincinnati settled for its third field goal.

STATS

Texans CB Kareem Jackson got his first career sack. ... Watson's TD came on the longest run by a Texan since Arian Foster had a 51-yard run against the Jaguars in 2014. ... The Bengals went 76 minutes, 16 seconds before getting Bullock's field goal for their first points of the season.

OUCH!

On the final play with multiple laterals, Dalton got the ball back and threw it to center Russell Bodine, who was leveled by J.J. Watt to end the game.

"Zig-zag, zig-zag, zig-zag, tired, tired, tired," Watt said, describing the multi-lateral play. "Thank you for throwing it to the guy closest to me - body slam."

WATT'S RETURN: That wasn't Watt's only emphatic play as he got back in form. He returned from a back injury that wiped out most of his 2016 season and managed only one tackle and one quarterback hit during an opening 29-7 loss to the Jaguars. On Thursday, he had six tackles, knocked down one pass and hit Dalton once.

TRADING JERSEYS

Watson and Bengals rookie running back Joe Mixon exchanged jerseys on the field after the game.

INJURIES

The Texans lost two cornerbacks. Johnathan Joseph hurt his right shoulder while making a tackle in the first half and didn't return. Kevin Johnson hurt his left knee in the third quarter and was out. The Texans already were missing LB Brian Cushing. He's in the NFL's concussion protocol and has been suspended 10 games for violating the NFL's policy on performance-enhancing substances.

Bengals: CB Adam "Pacman" Jones returned from his one-game NFL suspension for an offseason conviction and hurt his right elbow in the fourth quarter, but returned and finished the game.

UP NEXT

The Texans play at New England. They're 1-8 against the Patriots, including a 34-16 playoff loss last season.

The Bengals play at Green Bay for the first time since 2009. They've won three straight against the Packers, two of them at Paul Brown Stadium.

Ravens force 5 Dalton turnovers, beat Bengals 20-0

With Joe Flacco easing back in from a back injury, the Ravens went out and got a victory old-style.

Baltimore's rebuilt defense picked off Andy Dalton four times and forced him to fumble Sunday, and the Ravens pulled away to a 20-0 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals that reminded them of the days when they'd win games with a defense that got into quarterbacks' heads.

"I like to see touchdowns, but if we've got to play lights-out defense, that's what we're going to do," said linebacker Terrell Suggs , who had a pair of sacks and tipped a pass.

The Ravens pressured Dalton into matching his career high for interceptions , three of them in the first half. Two were tipped, and the other was a throw he forced into double coverage in the end zone that C.J. Mosley picked off.

The Ravens took control with a pair of touchdowns 24 seconds apart late in the half. Flacco saw the Bengals ready to blitz with no defender in the middle of the field, and he hit Jeremy Maclin in stride on a slant for a 48-yard catch-and-run.

Two plays later, Suggs batted Dalton's pass high in the air and Lardarius Webb grabbed it. Terrance West's 2-yard touchdown run made it 17-0.

The Ravens didn't need anything else, given how the defense was dominating.

"Any time you get a shutout, it's huge," said safety Tony Jefferson, one of the new additions. "To do it today in the opener? Man!"

The Ravens' overriding question was how Flacco would hold up after missing all of camp and the preseason with a bad back. The defense made sure he didn't have to do much. Flacco was 9 of 17 for 121 yards with an interception against a defense missing suspended linebacker Vontaze Burfict and cornerback Adam "Pacman" Jones.

"It was one of our old-fashioned games," said Flacco , in his 10th season. "It reminded me of one of our games when I was a rookie."

The Bengals had breakdowns everywhere as they were shut out in a season opener for the first time since 1979. They'd never been blanked in a home opener. The Bengals managed only 221 total yards and had nine penalties.

"This was as disappointing as it can be," coach Marvin Lewis said.

Baltimore has tormented Dalton like few others. He's had nine three-interception games during his career, four of them against Baltimore. His only other four-interception game also was against the Ravens in the 2013.

"It wasn't confusing," Dalton said. "I just didn't play well."

After missing the playoffs for the third time in four seasons, Baltimore put its emphasis on upgrading the defense. It paid off right away, with newcomer Brandon Carr getting the first interception .

Dalton was under heavy pressure behind Cincinnati's inexperienced line and finished 16 of 31 for 170 yards and was sacked five times.

SHUTOUT HISTORY

It was the Ravens' third season-opening shutout. They also blanked Pittsburgh in 2000 and Tampa Bay in 2006, both on the road. The Bengals hadn't been blanked in their season opener since 1979, when they lost at Denver 10-0. They hadn't been shut out at Paul Brown Stadium since 2001 by the Bears.

GRIND `EM DOWN

The Ravens essentially put it away with a 17-play, 81-yard drive in the third quarter that lasted 9 minutes, 38 seconds and ended in a field goal. The drive included 14 runs for 54 yards, two incompletions and three penalties on the Bengals: unnecessary roughness, pass interference and defensive holding.

The Ravens rushed for 157 yards overall, including 90 by West and 71 by Javorius Allen.

"This was a game that running the ball turned out to be a key," coach John Harbaugh said . "I thought we were really patient with it."

INJURIES

Ravens RB Danny Woodhead injured his left hamstring on the opening series and didn't return, another setback for a depleted offense. LB Za'Darius Smith hurt his left knee in the second quarter and was helped off the field.

Bengals RG guard Trey Hopkins hurt his left knee late in the first half and didn't return. DE Michael Johnsonsuffered a concussion on the final play of the first half and didn't return.

UP NEXT

Ravens play at Cleveland. They've won three in a row against the Browns.

Bengals host Texans on Thursday night. Houston has won its last two and seven of eight against Cincinnati, including a pair of first-round playoff games.

Green's catch highlights Bengals' 31-17 win over Browns

 A.J. Green juggled oranges on a postgame show after a win earlier this season, showing off for the cameras. His latest sleight-of-hand got a touchdown and turned a game.

And maybe the Bengals' season, too.

Green's one-handed catch in the middle of an end zone scrum highlighted Cincinnati's day full of big plays, and the Bengals pulled away to another lopsided victory over their intrastate rival, beating the winless Cleveland Browns 31-17 on Sunday.

Green's 48-yard touchdown catch on the final play of the first half helped the Bengals (3-4) regain their footing in the injury-depleted AFC North.

"We needed it in a big way," said Brandon LaFell, who caught a 44-yard touchdown pass.

The defending division champions piled up their most points since they beat the Browns 37-3 last December.Jeremy Hill had a 74-yard touchdown run as part of his 168-yard effort, the best by a Bengals running back in seven years.

After failing to score more than 23 points in any of the first six games, the Bengals finally got their act together against one of the league's worst defenses, piling up 559 yards - their most since 1990.

"It's definitely a start for us," Hill said. "We're not satisfied, but it's a start in the right direction."

For Cleveland, it was just another step in a downward trend since the season opener.

The Browns (0-7) extended their worst start since 1999, when they were a first-year expansion team. The NFL's only winless team also lost yet another quarterback - the theme of their season.

Cody Kessler got hit hard while throwing a shovel pass in the second quarter, then went to the locker for a concussion evaluation and was ruled out.

"Quarterbacks only have so many hits in them," Browns coach Hue Jackson said. "It's unfortunate. On we go."

The concussion left the offense in the hands of undrafted rookie Kevin Hogan, the Browns' sixth quarterback of the season.

Hogan - Cleveland's last quarterback standing - kept it close for a while by scrambling 28 yards for his first NFL touchdown, the longest TD run by a quarterback in team history. He finished as the Browns' top rusher with 104 yards.

"Running is something I've always felt confident in, that I could get a first down or a big gain," Hogan said.

With cornerback Joe Haden sidelined, the Browns had nobody who could cover Green, who had eight catches for 169 yards. The entire Browns defense couldn't stop him on the final play of the first half.

Green reached with his right hand and pulled in the tipped ball for a 21-10 halftime lead.

"I beat everybody down there, so I had first dibs on the ball," Green said. "I tapped it to myself a couple of times."

He also had a 48-yard catch down the sideline that set up a field goal as the Bengals pulled away in the third quarter.

ONE-SIDED RIVALRY

The Bengals have won the past four in the series by scores of 30-0, 31-10, 37-3 and 31-17. The Bengals' 37-3 win in Cleveland last December was Cincinnati's most lopsided in the series and matched the biggest margin of victory by either team.

INJURIES

Browns: Haden was sidelined with a groin injury. Terrelle Pryor, who leads the Browns in receiving, played with an injured hamstring and had two catches for 18 yards.

Bengals: TE Tyler Eifert was active for the first time following offseason ankle surgery and a back injury. Eifert got onto the field on the second series and finished with one catch for 9 yards.

ORANGE YOU CONFUSED

It was tough to distinguish the teams by uniform. Both have orange helmets. The Browns wore white jerseys and orange pants. The Bengals wore orange jerseys and white pants. And it was all the same shade of orange.

FANTASY IMPACT

Andy Dalton has his third straight big game against the Browns, going 19 of 28 for 308 yards with two TDs. In his past three games against Cleveland, Dalton is 54 of 74 for 762 yards with seven TDs and no interceptions.

UP NEXT

The Browns host the Jets, whom they haven't beaten since 2007. They've dropped their past three against the Jets, including a 31-10 defeat in 2015.

The Bengals make their first trip to London, facing former offensive coordinator Jay Gruden's Washington team. The Bengals have won their past three against Washington.

Brady has big day in homecoming, Patriots beat Bengals 35-17

Tom Brady had a smooth regular-season home debut.

Playing his first game in Foxborough since the end of his "Deflategate" suspension, Brady had three touchdown passes and went over 5,000 completions for his career , and the Patriots beat the Cincinnati Bengals 35-17 on Sunday.

Brady finished 29 for 35 for 376 yards. Tight end Rob Gronkowski had seven receptions for a career-high 162 yards and a touchdown.

"I think I know how to get to that place where I need to be," Brady said. "You only have so much energy, and at some point you gotta cut it loose when the moment's right."

Cincinnati dropped to 2-4 for the first time since 2010, when it finished 4-12 - its worst season under coach Marvin Lewis.

The Bengals had their moments offensively, scoring on a 2-yard touchdown run by Andy Dalton and 5-yard pass from Dalton to Brandon LaFell. Dalton finished 21 of 31 for 254 yards.

But New England (5-1) bounced back from some sluggish drives early with several big plays in the third quarter.

The Bengals scored on their first drive after halftime to briefly take a 14-10 lead. The Patriots swiftly responded with a safety and a pair of touchdown passes by Brady -first to Gronkowski, then to James White - to put the Patriots back in front.

Cincinnati has lost in its past six trips to New England. It hasn't won in Foxborough since 1986.

QUOTABLE: Bengals coach Marvin Lewis on his team's recent struggles: "It's disappointing. We're doing a lot of things right, and doing things good, and correct. But we're not finishing things. We continue to be our own Achilles heel, way too often. Whether it's a penalty on defense, which sets us back, or a key third down conversion. It turns out to be the key to the football game."

TE Martellus Bennett on a late-game shoving match between several players on both sides followingLeGarrette Blount's 1-yard touchdown run: "That's just what it is. We don't back down. We're not looking for trouble, but we don't walk away from trouble either."

MISSED OPPORTUNITY: The Bengals had a chance to score in the first half, but couldn't convert on three straight plays from the 1-yard line.

New England led 3-0 early in the second quarter when Dalton hit Giovani Bernard for 32 yards to the 6-yard line. Bernard ran for 5 more on first down to put it inside the 1. On second down, though, Bernard was stopped for no gain. Dalton's pass to A.J. Green in the left corner of the end zone on third down was well covered byMalcolm Butler, setting up a fourth-and-goal from a foot.

Bernard took the handoff and drove into the line, but the Patriots pushed him back and took over on downs.

The Bengals forced the Patriots to punt and then brought it back to the goal line on their next possession before Dalton ran it in himself from the 2 to make it 7-3.

TWO-MINUTE DRILL: Brady was efficient in the Patriots' final drive of the first half. After throwing an incompletion and taking an 8-yard sack to begin the drive, he ended it with five straight completions, including a 39-yard pass to Chris Hogan to set up the 15-yard touchdown pass to White. The drive took just 2:09 off the clock.

GOING DEEP: Including the 39-yard reception in the second quarter, Hogan has five catches of at least 20 yards on the season. That is more than any other Patriots receiver.

SAFETIES SQUARED: Patriots LB Dont'a Hightower delivered his second safety in two weeks. He dragged down Dalton in the end zone in the third quarter to cut Cincinnati's lead to 14-12. Hightower also forced a safety against Cleveland last week when he pressured Browns quarterback Cody Kessler into a backward pass that went out of the end zone.

GRONK GETS ON THE BOARD: After going three games this season without reaching the end zone, Gronkowski got his first touchdown reception of the season in the third quarter. Gronk got free over the middle and hauled in a 4-yard catch that put the Patriots up 19-14 after Stephen Gostkowski's extra point. It was the first time that Brady and Gronk have connected for a TD this season. Gronk celebrated with his usual spike of the football.

INJURIES: Patriots LB Elandon Roberts left early in the second quarter with a head injury. Cincinnati centerRussell Bodine limped off with a right leg injury in the third quarter. Patriots defensive lineman Woodrow Hamilton left the game in the fourth quarter with a shoulder injury.

UP NEXT: Cincinnati: Bengals host Browns on Sunday.

New England: Patriots travel to Steelers on Sunday.

Rookie-led Cowboys are 4-1 after 28-14 win over Bengals

These rookie-led Dallas Cowboys keep winning without Tony Romo and Dez Bryant.

Ezekiel Elliott ran for 134 yards and two touchdowns, fellow rookie Dak Prescott threw for a score and ran for another TD, and the Cowboys beat the Cincinnati Bengals 28-14 on Sunday for their fourth consecutive victory.

"Zeke ran really, really well, but a big part of this game was the efficiency of our passing game," coach Jason Garrett said. "Dak read things out well, threw it to the right guy, and was accurate. ... He's grown with the experience he gets. He's goes about it the right way. We're lucky to have him."

Without Romo, who hasn't played yet after his fourth back injury in just less than four years, the Cowboys (4-1) have already matched their victory total from a year ago. Bryant has missed two games with a hairline fracture in his right knee.

The Bengals (2-3) have a losing record a year after being 8-0 midway through the season.

"Everybody needs to take a deep look at their self," said Bengals cornerback Adam Jones, who was still known as Pacman when he played for the Cowboys.

Romo could be ready to play when the Cowboys play their next home game Oct. 30 against Philadelphia. They are guaranteed to have a winning record then, going to Green Bay next week before their bye.

Prescott had his first turnover, a fumble when he was sacked late in the third quarter. But the fourth-round draft pick was 18-of-24 passing for 227 yards, and extended his NFL rookie record to 155 passes without an interception to start a career.

Elliott, on only 15 carries, became the first Cowboys rookie with three consecutive 100-yard rushing games. He also had three catches for 37 yards.

"It doesn't surprise me. He'll deal it up any way you want to have it," Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said. "You saw that speed take care of itself out there."

Elliott put the Cowboys ahead to stay with a 13-yard TD run on their opening drive. Then on their first offensive snap of the second half, Elliott busted through the middle and into the open on the way to a 60-yard score, punctuating the play with what might be called a JerryWorld jump, leaping up a few feet to celebrate with fans sitting in field-level suites in the end zone.

Prescott ran 5 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter. Then he was scrambling to his right before halftime when he threw on the run to Cole Beasley for a 14-yard score.

It was a homecoming of sorts for Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton, who went to TCU about 20 miles away from AT&T Stadium. The 2011 second-round draft pick was visiting the Cowboys for the first time in a regular-season game.

But the Bengals trailed 28-0 before Dalton threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to Brandon LaFell with about 10 minutes left. That duo hooked up again for a 5-yard score with 2:39 left. Dalton finished 29 of 41 for 269 yards.

"They got us in longer situations on third down and we weren't able to keep moving the ball," Dalton said. "They took some things away, and we weren't able to overcome that."

IMPRESSIVE FIRST-TIMERS

The Cowboys are the first team in NFL history to have a rookie quarterback with 1,000 yards passing and a rookie running back with at least 500 yards rushing in the first five games of a season.

TYRON'S RETURN

Dallas Pro Bowl left tackle Tyron Smith returned after missing two games with back issues. Smith had missed just one game in the first five seasons of his career before his back tightened up late in the week before the third game against Chicago.

CHASING DALTON

Dallas defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence made his season debut following a four-game suspension for violating the NFL's substance-abuse policy. While he didn't get a sack, he boosted a pass rush that sacked Dalton four times. Lawrence, who led Dallas with eight sacks last season, had a fistful of Dalton's jersey on one play but couldn't pull him down.

HOME GETTING SWEET AGAIN

The Cowboys have won their last two home games, following an eight-game losing streak in their showplace stadium. They lost 20-19 to the New York Giants at home in this season's opener.

A.J. Green has big game as Bengals dominate Dolphins 22-7

For most of the game, A.J. Green piled up more yards than the entire Miami Dolphins offense in a virtuoso performance. As an encore, he thrilled the crowd by juggling some Florida citrus.

The Bengals receiver followed his disappointing game with a dominating one - 173 yards and a touchdown - and a Cincinnati defense that was inspired byVontaze Burfict's return clamped down on the Dolphins for a 22-7 victory Thursday night.

The Bengals (2-2) rebounded from a 29-17 home loss to Denver on Sunday with a solid all-around game against a depleted team.

Green led the way, beating the Dolphins (1-3) on every type of route . He was upset with himself after he dropped a pivotal third-down pass and failed to make an impact against the Broncos.

"I hold myself to a very high standard," said Green, who had 10 catches. "I know what I'm capable of. Last week I didn't perform to that level. I had to refocus on a short week."

During the first three quarters, Green had 166 yards on catches while Miami had 152 total yards. The Bengals' season-long problem of stalling out near the goal line forced them to settle for Mike Nugent's season-high five field goals.

Afterward, Green and Andy Dalton appeared on the postgame show, and the receiver entertained the dozens of Bengals fans who stayed around by smoothly juggling three oranges at the interview desk.

"Any time he was one-on-one, he was able to make the play," Dalton said.

The Dolphins were missing four starting offensive linemen, two linebackers, running back Arian Foster and tight end Jordan Cameron. They had one big play - Ryan Tannehill threw a 74-yard touchdown pass to Kenny Stills - but couldn't do anything else on offense.

"We've got to get it fixed and quick, and by that I mean Monday," Tannehill said. "We're kind of in a dark spot right now. It's squarely on our shoulders."

The Bengals' defense expected to get a lift from Burfict's return. The volatile linebacker was suspended by the NFL for the first three games because of his illegal hits. He got a loud ovation when he ran onto the field during introductions wearing a baseball cap. Burfict knocked down a pass and had three tackles.

"He's amazing," end Carlos Dunlap said. "Did you see the plays he made? Those aren't plays you can coach. He came off his couch and played great. It's good to have him back."

Mostly, it was Green's show. He caught a 51-yard pass off Dalton's scramble in the first half, and had a 43-yard catch that set up another field goal in the third quarter for a 19-7 lead.

REMEMBERING FERNANDEZ

A large fan banner in the upper deck at Paul Brown Stadium honored Miami Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez, who died with two friends in a boat crash early Sunday near Miami Beach. The banner read: "Jose 16 Heaven's Bright."

STILL CAN'T RUN

The Bengals rushed for 77 yards and only a 2.1-yard average against the second-worst run defense in the league, one missing two starting linebackers.

SLOPPY DOLPHINS

Miami had seven penalties for 68 yards. The most egregious was by Terrence Fede, who pushed Kevin Huber to the ground after he punted in the third quarter. The penalty gave Cincinnati the ball, and the Bengals got a field goal out of it.

INJURIES

Dolphins: LT Branden Albert and C Anthony Steen were inactive with sprained ankles. Also missing were LBs Koa Misi (neck) and Jelani Jenkins (groin). C Mike Pouncey has missed all four games with a hip injury.

Bengals: TE Tyler Eifert was inactive again, contributing to the Bengals' trouble close to the goal line. He's recovering from offseason ankle surgery and returned to practice on a limited basis last week. CB Dre Kirkpatrick was inactive with a hamstring injury suffered Sunday. G Clint Boling sat out most of the fourth quarter with an injured left shoulder.

ANTHEM STATEMENTS

Stills and Dolphins safety Michael Thomas knelt with their hands over their hearts during the anthem.

FANTASY IMPACT

Tannehill was 15 of 25 for 189 yards with a touchdown, an interception, a fumble and five sacks. Dalton was 22 of 31 for 296 yards with a touchdown and a sack.

UP NEXT

The Dolphins begin a stretch of four straight home games against Tennessee, Pittsburgh, Buffalo and the New York Jets.

The Bengals have a tough two-game stretch, playing Dallas and New England on the road. They're 1-5 in Dallas, dropping their last three. They've dropped their last six at New England, last winning in 1986.

Siemian's 4 TD passes lead Broncos over Bengals 29-17

 Four touchdown passes, more than 300 yards passing, two clutch touchdown drives in the fourth quarter.

Trevor Siemian played every bit like Peyton Manning in his first road start.

In some ways, even better.

Siemian was nearly perfect as he rallied the Denver Broncos to a 29-17 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday, leading a pair of fourth-quarter touchdown drives with veteran aplomb.

The defending Super Bowl champions' biggest offseason challenge was replacing their famous quarterback, and it looks as if they made the right choice. They're 3-0 under Siemian, who took over after Manning retired andBrock Osweiler went to Houston.

Siemian became the first Bronco to throw for four touchdowns since Manning in 2014 against the Dolphins. No NFL quarterback had thrown for 300 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions in their road debut, according to ESPN Stats and Info.

"Obviously going in, nobody really knew about him," said Emmanuel Sanders, who caught the first two touchdowns. "Now everybody's starting to talk about him. He's always calm, cool and collected, even in the fourth quarter. You should have seen the way he took command in the huddle."

Trailing at the start of the fourth quarter, Siemian completed 11 of 12 passes while rallying the Broncos to those fourth-quarter touchdowns. He finished 23 of 35 for 312 yards and a passer rating of 132.1.

"I'm still learning a lot," Siemian said. "There are a couple of plays I'd like to do over again."

Siemian had a 41-yard touchdown pass to Sanders to get it started, and stood in under a heavy rush and connected with Demaryius Thomas on a 55-yard score with 4:23 left to clinch it. Sanders finished with nine catches for 117 yards.

The Bengals got their dormant running game going, but were still out of sync as they fell to 1-2 for the first time in five years. Jeremy Hill ran for a pair of touchdowns and 97 yards - huge strides for Cincinnati's pass-heavy offense - but Andy Dalton couldn't do much after the Bengals fell behind.

"We're still trying to find ourselves," said receiver A.J. Green, who had eight catches for 77 yards but dropped a pivotal third-down pass. "We've got to be more consistent."

INJURIES

Broncos safety T.J. Ward hurt his neck late in the first quarter but returned. The Broncos were already missing safetyJustin Simmons. ... Bengals kicker Mike Nugent suffered a shoulder injury while helping to make a tackle during a kickoff return in the second quarter but later made a field goal.

UP AND RUNNING ... BRIEFLY

After two games of getting virtually nothing out of their running game, the Bengals made it a point of emphasis and got immediate results. Hill, who had a total of 53 yards in the first two games, broke off a 50-yard run on Cincinnati's opening possession - his longest run since 2014. He capped the drive with a 3-yard TD run, giving the Bengals a season high in rushing after one series. Denver clamped down the rest of the way.

NOT-SO-SWEET HOME

The Bengals are 6-4 in their past nine games at Paul Brown Stadium, including a first-round playoff loss to Pittsburgh.

ANTHEM

Ward raised his right fist during the anthem, the first time he's made such a gesture. Brandon Marshall again went to his knee behind the front line of players.

LINE CHANGE

The Broncos switched their offensive line, with Ty Sambrailo starting at right tackle in place of Donald Stephenson, who has a strained calf. Sambrailo got called for holding late in the first half, but Siemian had enough time for his big game. He was sacked only twice.

AGGIE VS AGGIE

Bengals right tackle Cedric Ogbuehi got to block Von Miller, who was a teammate at Texas A&M for one season. In his third NFL start, Ogbuehi - a first-round pick last season - got caught holding the Super Bowl MVP once and gave up one of Denver's four sacks.

UP NEXT

The Broncos play at Tampa Bay next Sunday.

The Bengals have a quick turnaround, getting ready to host the Dolphins on Thursday night.

THEY SAID IT

Broncos: "That's what we've been waiting for man. That's a huge step forward for our team to do that on the road against a playoff team." - cornerback Chris Harris Jr.

Bengals: "It's still early. There's a lot to be accomplished." - Andy Dalton.

Steelers grind their way past Bengals 24-16

No chaos this time. No meltdowns either.

The Pittsburgh Steelers and Cincinnati Bengals stuck to football this time.

And Ben Roethlisberger's sharp second half gave the Steelers an early leg up in the race for the AFC North title by shaking off a pair of first-half interceptions to finish with 259 yards and three scores and Pittsburgh held on for a 24-16 win on Sunday.

DeAngelo Williams churned out 94 yards on a career-high 32 carries and added a 4-yard touchdown grab with 6:48 remaining to give the Steelers (2-0) all the breathing room they would need.

Tight ends Jesse James and Xavier Grimble also caught scoring passes from Roethlisberger as Pittsburgh kept Cincinnati in check at rainy Heinz Field.

The rematch of the Steelers' ugly 18-16 win in the wild-card round in January was downright tame by comparison. The teams combined for just 10 penalties and only one personal foul, a marked departure from that messy night in Cincinnati nine months ago that included more than 220 penalty yards and a series of nasty hits that cost the players involved thousands in fines and Bengals linebacker Vontaze Burfict the first three games of the 2016 season.

"I think they're all civil," Williams said with a laugh. "Sometimes you have civil disputes. We just didn't have any of those."

Andy Dalton passed for 366 yards and a touchdown but needed 31 completions to reach that total, working almost exclusively on dump offs to running backs and tight ends while Pittsburgh clamped down on star wide receiver A.J. Green, who finished with just two receptions for 38 yards.

"We were able to take (Green) out of the game," Steelers safety Mike Mitchell said. "We knew if we could minimize his impact, the outcome was going to be good for us and it was."

Pittsburgh controlled the tempo throughout and after Roethlisberger shook off a so-so first half in which he tossed two interceptions and the Steelers pulled away.

Roethlisberger hit Sammie Coates with a pretty 53-yard pass to set up a 9-yard toss to James. The quarterback later used a 14-yard scramble - his longest run in three seasons - to set up a flip to Williams that put Pittsburgh up 24-9.

SLOPPY FINISH: Dalton found Giovanni Bernard for a 25-yard touchdown with 3:25 left, but each of Cincinnati's last two drives ended in turnovers. Tyler Boyd fumbled after getting hit by James Harrison in Pittsburgh territory with 1:50 to play even though replays appeared to show Boyd - who grew up in suburban Pittsburgh and played collegiately on the same field for Pitt - was down well before the ball came out.

"I should have done a better job with ball security," said Boyd, who finished with six catches for 78 yards. "I still believe I was down but the call didn't say so. All I can do is go out there and keep playing."

Cincinnati's second turnover came on a last-ditch lateral by Bernard that ended up in Pittsburgh defensive end Cam Heyward's hands after time expired.

NO SHOW: Maybe it was the weather. Maybe it was the relatively conservative game plans or maybe it was just pretty solid defense. Whatever it was, the expected duel between superstar wide receivers Antonio Brown and A.J. Greennever materialized .

Brown caught just four passes for 39 yards and even had a rare drop while running free in the middle of the field in the first half.

Green, guarded almost exclusively by Pittsburgh cornerback Ross Cockrell at the line, struggled to find much room to move. The only impact play Green made came on drawing a pass interference play against Cockrell that set up Mike Nugent's field goal. A week after dominating Darrelle Revis for 12 catches and 180 yards and a touchdown against the Jets, Green was a nonfactor and one of the reasons Cincinnati went just 4 of 16 on third down.

"We converted one or two, but not enough of them that mattered," Cincinnati coach Marvin Lewis said.

THEY SAID IT:

"We were never planning on our role being diluted down, but we feel good about where we are now." James on the contributions of the reserve tight ends following the retirement of Heath Miller and a lingering injury to free-agent signee Ladarius Green.

"There were times when A.J. Green would catch 12 balls and there are other times when other guys will get involved. That's just how it is." - Dalton on Green's lack of production.

UP NEXT

Bengals: Welcome Denver to Paul Brown Stadium in their home opener.

Steelers: Travel to Philadelphia to take on the Eagles.