GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Josh Jacobs rushed for two touchdowns and the Green Bay Packers held off Cincinnati for a 27-18 victory in Joe Flacco’s Bengals debut on Sunday.
Jacobs had a 3-yard touchdown run in the second quarter and opened the fourth by scoring on a 14-yard burst up the middle. Jordan Love went 19 of 26 for 259 yards with an interception and a 19-yard touchdown pass to Tucker Kraft.
Lucas Havrisik sealed the win by making the second of his two field goals, a 39-yarder with 1:52 remaining. Havrisik also kicked a 43-yarder a day after signing with the Packers because usual kicker Brandon McManus had injured his quadriceps.
Cincinnati’s final hope vanished when Evan McPherson was wide right on a 56-yard attempt with 41 seconds left. McPherson also made a 45-yard field goal and was well short on what would have been an NFL-record 67-yarder to end the first half.
The Packers (3-1-1) returned from a bye week with their first home game since Sept. 11. They bounced back from two straight subpar performances — a 13-10 loss at Cleveland and a 40-40 tie with Dallas.
Flacco was Cleveland’s quarterback in that victory over the Packers three weeks ago. He was acquired by Cincinnati (2-4) on Tuesday.
The 40-year-old Flacco was 29 of 45 for 219 yards and two touchdowns, but the Bengals dropped their fourth consecutive game.
Although Cincinnati never led, the Bengals made it a one-score game on Flacco’s 19-yard touchdown pass to Ja’Marr Chase on a fourth-and-5 play with 4:11 to go. A 2-point conversion pass from Flacco to Chase Brown cut Green Bay’s lead to 24-18.
But the Bengals’ defense couldn’t get a stop down the stretch. Neither team punted in the second half.
Love threw a 31-yard pass to Matthew Golden on third-and-8 to get the Packers down to Cincinnati’s 29-yard line with 2:24 remaining. That set up Havrisik’s second field goal.
Flacco became the eighth quarterback since at least 1950 to start against the same opponent twice in a season while playing for two different teams. The only quarterback to win both games in that scenario was Jack Kemp, who guided the AFL’s Buffalo Bills and San Diego Chargers past the New York Titans in 1962.
Cincinnati was outscored 10-0 and outgained 240-65 in the first half, marking the fourth straight game in which the Bengals failed to reach the end zone before halftime.
The Bengals got back into the game by opening the second half with a 17-play, 78-yard touchdown drive that lasted 10 minutes, 14 seconds. On fourth-and-goal, Flacco threw a 2-yard touchdown pass to Tanner Hudson, who entered Sunday’s game without any catches all season.
Jacobs’ second touchdown made it 17-7. Cincinnati cut the lead to 17-10 with 10:43 left before Love and Kraft connected for Green Bay’s longest touchdown completion of the season.
Kraft caught the ball a couple of yards beyond the line of scrimmage, shed a tackle and lowered his shoulder to get through cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt and land in the right corner of the end zone.
Injuries
Bengals: TE Mike Gesicki (pectoral) and DE Trey Hendrickson (back) both left the game.
Packers: DE Lukas Van Ness was carted into the locker room with a foot injury in the third quarter. WR Dontayvion Wicks hurt his ankle. S Javon Bullard was evaluated for a concussion.
Up next
Bengals: Host the Pittsburgh Steelers on Thursday
Packers: Visit the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday.
