The first half was dominated by the Cincinnati Bengals, outscoring the Raiders by 24 points. The second half opened with a quick Bengals three and out, followed by a 55-yard Sebastian Janikowski field goal -- which simply neutralized Mike Nugent's 55-yarder to end the first half, not much else.
Cincinnati opens their second possession in the third quarter at their own 16-yard, thanks to a Brandon Tate fielded return nine-plus yards deep into the Bengals endzone on Oakland's kickoff. The Bengals went three and out for the second time in the second half, including four straight incomplete passes by Andy Dalton. Kevin Huber feels the suddenly lifeless aura from the offense with a 35-yard punt, giving Oakland the football at their own 43-yard line.
The defense on the other hand, isn't resting like their offensive counterparts. On first down, Carlos Dunlap nearly sacks Carson Palmer, who wiggles out of the tackle but is leveled by Wallace Gilberry. A six-yard screen sets up a third and 14, which resulted in a limited seven-yard gain forcing Oakland to punt on fourth down. Brandon Tate returned the punt to Cincinnati's 15-yard line with 7:04 remaining in the third.
Again the Bengals offer nothing. A limited one-yard end around to A.J. Green and quarterback sack on second down leads to an incomplete screen on third down, their third three and out. A Kevin Huber 44-yard punt is fair caught at the Raiders 48-yard line.
And the Raiders woke up. Marcel Reece picked up 12 and 15 yards respectively, reaching Cincinnati's 30-yard line with just under four minutes remaining in the half. Jeremy Stewart followed that up with an eight yard run to the 22-yard line with a first down conversion by Reece on second and two.
The Raiders finally scored a touchdown with a floater from Carson Palmer to Denarius Moore, wide open down the middle of the field. Bengals still lead 24-10.