CINCINNATI — Rookie quarterback Cam Newton took a step back on his road to NFL stardom.
Andy Dalton, another rookie, took a huge leap forward.
Dalton, Cincinnati’s second- round draft pick from TCU, led four first-half scoring drives, and the Bengals beat the Panthers 24-13 on Thursday night.
Dalton was an efficient 11-of-17 for 130 yards and a touchdown — a 40-yard strike to fellow rookie A.J. Green — for Cincinnati (1-2), putting together a 107.5 quarterback rating, a vast improvement over the 30.9 he took into the game.
Newton, the overall No. 1 pick by Carolina (1-2), went into the game with a 65.2 rating after two games. He rushed for 41 yards in the first half, including a 16-yard scramble for a touchdown. He played the first three series of the third quarter before giving way to second-year quarterback Jimmy Clausen and finished 6-for-19 for 75 yards and a 44.8 rating.
“It’s unacceptable on my part,” he said. “I’ve got to make the proper reads and get in a comfort zone. Third-and-long is not a situation we want to be in. A checkdown is not a bad thing.”
Eagles 24, Browns 14
PHILADELPHIA — Michael Vick led three scoring drives and Philadelphia’s first-team defense pitched a shutout.
Vick wasn’t particularly sharp. He took a lot of hits and had to escape trouble quite a bit. Still, he managed to complete 10-of-18 passes for 98 yards. He ran for 24 yards and a touchdown.
Eagles defensive tackle Mike Patterson, playing his first game since suffering a seizure in practice this month, sacked Colt McCoy for a 10-yard loss in the first quarter.
“I was a little bit nervous at first,” Patterson said. “I had to get that feeling back. But it felt pretty good, and I felt pretty happy to get a hit on him.”
Ravens 34, Redskins 31
BALTIMORE — Tyrod Taylor threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to Brandon Jones with 22 seconds left, a score set up by LaQuan Williams’ 38-yard punt return.
The Associated Press
