Dalton's TD catch leads Bengals over Titans
CINCINNATI - Andy Dalton caught a touchdown pass - the first Bengals quarterback to pull off that feat.
The defense nearly pitched a shutout.
And Cincinnati got plenty of help from a sloppy Tennessee team that had just received sad news.
Dalton turned his first career reception into a touchdown on Sunday, and the Bengals stayed undefeated with a 33-7 victory over the Titans.
The Bengals (3-0) head into their bye week with their best start in eight years and a chance to get some of their many injured players healthy. They got a lot of big plays, a few breaks and plenty of help from a team dealing with the death of a long-time player.
A few hours before kickoff, the Titans (1-2) learned that kicker Rob Bironas had died overnight in a one-car crash in Nashville. He'd been released in March after his ninth season with Tennessee.
Everything went wrong for the Titans, who committed a safety for holding in the end zone on a punt, missed two field goal attempts, snapped the ball before Jake Locker was ready in shotgun formation, and whiffed on the game's defining play.
On the final play of the first quarter, Dalton flipped the ball to receiver Mohamed Sanu, who ran to his right while the quarterback sneaked toward the other side of the field. Sanu stopped and threw a cross-field pass that hung in the air. Cornerback Blidi Wreh-Wilson had a chance to pick it off or level the quarterback, who was reaching to catch the ball.
Wreh-Wilson did neither, lightly bumping Dalton as he ran by him. The quarterback made the catch and ran 18 yards, diving inside the pylon at the goal line to score. He was the first NFL quarterback to score on a catch since Kansas City's Tyler Thigpen in 2008.
Dalton's threw his first interception - Cincinnati's first turnover of the season - with 44 seconds left before halftime. But Locker forced a throw into coverage in the end zone for an off-setting interception that left the Bengals with a 19-0 halftime lead.
The Bengals didn't have to do much in the second half other than let their defense finish it off. Dalton was 15 of 23 for 169 yards and wasn't sacked for the third straight game.
Pro Bowl receiver A.J. Green, who missed most of the last game with an injured big right toe, started and had six catches for 102 yards. He also drew a pair of pass interference penalties from Wreh-Wilson.
Giovani Bernard had a pair of 1-yard touchdown runs. His dive with 1:58 left in the third quarter completed a 14-play, 80-yard drive that lasted 7 minutes, 18 seconds and finished off Tennessee.
The Titans repeatedly undercut drives with penalties. Locker was 17 of 34 for 185 yards with two interceptions, two sacks and a passer rating of 41.9. Ryan Succop missed field goal attempts of 40 and 44 yards in the first half, helping Cincinnati take control.
The Titans ended the shutout on Shonn Greene's 1-yard touchdown run with 6:09 to go.