PHILADELPHIA (AP) — BenJarvus Green-Ellis scored on a 1-yard TD run and the Cincinnati Bengals led the Philadelphia Eagles 10-0 after one quarter on Thursday night.
Coming off a 20-19 loss to Dallas on a last-second field goal, the Bengals looked to rebound against another NFC East opponent.
The Bengals (7-6) entered tied with the Pittsburgh Steelers for the last playoff spot in the AFC. Their game at Pittsburgh next week is far more important in the standings, however. Win or lose against the Eagles, the Bengals still get in by winning their last two games.
The Eagles (4-9) are playing out the string in a lost season. They beat Tampa Bay on a last-second TD last week to snap an eight-game losing streak.
Rookie quarterback Nick Foles made his fifth straight start for Michael Vick, who just returned to practice this week after sustaining a concussion on Nov. 11.
Just two plays in, the Eagles committed their league-leading 30th turnover. Wide receiver Jeremy Maclin, who caught the winning TD against the Buccaneers, fumbled after a 6-yard catch. Carlos Dunlap recovered and the Bengals started at the Eagles 44. Green-Ellis ran 29 yards on first down and scored a few plays later for a 7-0 lead.
It got uglier for Philadelphia on the next possession. Mat McBriar punted into his own blocker, Daniel Herron picked it up and ran 3 yards to the Eagles 11. But Brandon Graham sacked Andy Dalton and Cincinnati settled for Josh Brown's 24-yard field goal that made it 10-0.
The Eagles were again without running back LeSean McCoy and tight end Brent Celek also sat out. Both players also are recovering from concussions. McCoy missed his fourth straight game, but returned to practice this week with Vick.
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