GREEN BAY, Wis. _ After piling up a crushing time of possession in the first half in which the Packers more than doubled the clock, Green Bay wore down the Bengals defense for a 24-18 victory Sunday at Lambeau Field.
In his Bengals debut, quarterback Joe Flacco led the Bengals on a season-long 17-play, 78-yard touchdown drive to open the second half, and he capped it with a fourth-and-two touchdown pass to tight end Tanner Hudson under the goal posts at the back of the end zone. Flacco finished the day completing 29-of-45 passes for 219 yards and two touchdowns.
The last two passes of the drive went to Hudson in a game he made his first catches of the season. He was pressed into service early in the game when tight end Mike Gesicki left with a pectoral injury.
The Bengals also lost All-Pro edge rusher Trey Hendrickson late in the first half with a back injury.
Bengals kicker Evan McPherson’s bid for NFL history at the end of the first half was foiled by Packers head Matt LaFleur’s timeout that wiped out a 67-yard field goal. A yard longer than Justin Tucker’s NFL record, McPherson coaxed it off the crossbar.
His next attempt went to the middle of the end zone. He did hit a 45-yarder with 10:43 left in the game right down the middle to cut the lead to 17-10.
Flacco led another drive in the fourth quarter, taking Cincinnati 54 yards down the field in 13 plays. He found WR Ja’Marr Chase on fourth down for a 19-yard touchdown and hit RB Chase Brown for the two-point conversion to cut the lead to six late.