The Cincinnati Bengals have opened their 2015 NFL season with a comfortable 33-13 win over the Oakland Raiders at the O.co Coliseum.
The Bengals opened the scoring early in the first quarter when Tyler Eifert made a string of catches before Jeremy Hill ran it over from three yards out.
AJ Green and Mohamed Sanu both had catches as the visiting side made their way back towards the endzone, but Andy Dalton could not find any of his receivers, leaving Mike Nugent to kick a field goal.
The Raiders' chances of cutting the deficit were dealt a blow in the second quarter as starting quarterback Derek Carr picked up a hand injury, preventing him from taking any further part in the game.
Backup Matt McGloin struggled to get the home side's offense going before half time, allowing Hill to run over for his second of the day, before a throw over the top from Dalton found Eifert at the back of the endzone in the final seconds before half time.
After a quiet start to the third quarter, Dalton targeted Eifert again, and the tight end outmuscled his marker to haul in his second touchdown of the game.
The Bengals started to rest some of their starters in the fourth quarter, allowing the Raiders offense to finally find some rhythm and get off the mark with McGloin tossing the ball forward for Marcel Reece.
After a quick three-and-out from the Bengals, Oakland added a second late score after Michael Crabtree picked up some yardage, setting up McGloin for another short touchdown pass to Reece.
The hosts tried a two-point conversion to cut the gap further, but Rod Streater was unable to make the catch, while Cincinnati ended any hopes the hosts had of getting back into the game with a late field goal from Nugent.
Sian Cowper
