Bengals win preseason opener

Andy Dalton and the Cincinnati Bengals offense opened the preseason in perfect fashion, and the defense was impressive as well Friday night against the New York Giants. Dalton completed 3 of 3 passes for 31 yards, including a 3-yard touchdown to Mohamed Sanu, on the first series and called it a night after staking the Bengals to a 7-0 lead on the way to a 23-10 victory before a crowd of 39,914 at Paul Brown Stadium. "I think what everybody saw just shows that we came out fully prepared," Dalton said. "It's not that much, but sure, it's a good start to the season. The first-unit guys were glad we could earn ourselves a short night." The opening drive covered 52 yards, with four of the first five plays producing first downs. The only one that didn't was a 6-yard scramble by Dalton. Jeremy Hill had runs of 10 and 5 yards, and Dalton added completions to Tyler Eifert (12 yards) and A.J. Green (16). "When you put in the openers for the game and talk about the different looks you're going to get, you want to execute them," Dalton said. "That's exactly what we did. We moved the ball well and completed some balls, and the backs ran well. We did exactly what we wanted to do." Eli Manning and the Giants first-team offense stayed in the game for four series. The first three ended in three-and-outs, including one that started on the Cincinnati 35-yard line following a 70-yard kick return. The Giants gained 15 yards on their first nine plays and didn't get a first down until the final minute of the opening quarter. "I'm obviously pleased with how we started the game," Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis said. "Defensively, going out and getting off the field. I thought the No. 1 thing I was pleased with was tackling. As for negatives, we had two penalties on defense, things we have to eliminate."