By: Adam Purvis ~Staff Writer~

In overtime, with over 37 points scored by each team and sitting at a tie, the Cincinnati Bengals and the Carolina Panthers came head to head on Oct. 12.

The Bengals are now left at 3-1-1 through a tough and well-played beginning of the 2014 season.
Their opening regular season game ended with a strange win for Cincinnati over the 2012 Super Bowl Champs, the Baltimore Ravens.

Oddly enough, most of the points scored were from the Bengals’ kicker, Mike Nugent. Nugent kicked five field goals, scoring 15 out of the 23 total points for the Bengals, all in the first half of the game.

The Ravens responded with a rushing touchdown in the second half by Justin Forsett. The game progressed into the fourth quarter with the Ravens scoring another touchdown and a field goal leaving the score 16-15.

The Bengals offense put up a fight with its first touchdown, a 77-yard pass from quarterback Andy Dalton to receiver A.J. Green to take back the lead.

They completed a two-point conversion to end the game 23-16. Fantasy football teams with Nugent probably had a surprisingly nice opening week from the usually low-scoring kicker.
Opening their season at Paul Brown Stadium, the Bengals faced off against the Atlanta Falcons.
After two field goals in the first quarter, the Bengals took off, scoring three touchdowns.
Two rushing touchdowns were by Giovanni Bernard and one was by Jeremy Hill.

Dalton also threw one touchdown to Mohamed Sanu this game.

Even though the Bengals had taken off, the Falcons did not give up, with quarterback Matt Ryan throwing a 14-yard pass to Julio Jones.

Even with this touchdown, the Falcons did not come back. The result of the game was 24-10 Bengals and a 2-0 record.

The Bengals continued their win streak in week three with a win against the Tennessee Titans, 33-7, again at Paul Brown Stadium. The Bengals, offensively and defensively dominated the game with touchdowns in each quarter and a safety in the second quarter.

Dalton did not throw a touchdown this game, but he did score his own receiving touchdown from Sanu following a lateral that left Dalton open.

The Titans fought at the end, scoring their own touchdown, but could not make anything happen against Cincinnati.

The Bengals had a bye in week four, but they had a rough game against the Patriots at Gillette Stadium resulting in their first loss of the season, 43-17, in week five.

The Patriots came back with a vengeance after their own stinging defeat at the hands of the Chiefs the previous week with a score of 41-14.

Oct. 12 was full of upsets and hard-played games, with the Browns conquering the Steelers and the Cowboys busting through Seattle’s defense. On that same day, the Bengals recorded a tie against the Carolina Panthers.

The score was 37-37, setting the new record for the highest-scoring tie in the NFL.
The game fluctuated each quarter over which team was in the lead. With the score tied in the last few seconds, Nugent missed an important 36-yard field goal that could have led to the Bengals victory.

The Bengals continue their impressive season at 1 p.m. on Oct. 19 in Indianapolis against the Colts.