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It's third down with ten yards to go and 5:49 remaining in the second quarter. The game is tied. Andy Dalton already had two interceptions to his credit and Cincinnati was pinned at their own nine-yard. Mohamed Sanu and Jermaine Gresham were bunched three yards to Anthony Collins' left, A.J. Green was split out a little further out and Marvin Jones was isolated on the right.
Green angled in and then veered off the left sidelines 15 yards after the line of scrimmage.
Cornerback Zack Bowman was underneath and safety Major Wright was over top. Bowman momentarily patrolled the underneath zone but navigated back to Green's outside route while Wright, watching everything develop front of him, closed in on Green.
Dalton beautifully lofts the football over Bowman and hits Green perfectly as Wright makes contact.
Green caught the football in-bounds and converted the first down. It was critical, because the Bengals would eventually go 91 yards on the drive, capped by Green's 45-yard touchdown with over three minutes remaining in the first half.
Now one has to ask, why Green? There were five routes, why was Green the forced option? Bluntly spoken, Green was the only that went beyond the first down marker. And hell, it's A.J. fuggin' Green. You take your chances.