Raiders vs. Bengals, Week 12: Cincinnati rides strong first half to win

The Cincinnati Bengals were not very welcoming to the team's formal quarterback, sacking Oakland's Carson Palmer four times in the 34-10 win over the Raiders.

The Bengals dominated the first half against Oakland, taking a 24-0 lead into the locker room at half time after big plays on offense and defense led to the makings of a blowout win. Josh Kirkendall of Cincy Jungle detailed the great play of the Cincinnati offense:

If we made one summary in the first half, it was almost like the Cincinnati Bengals offense could call any play in the first half, confident that it would work. And it often did, nearly generating 300 yards of total offense in the opening two quarters. One of those reasons was the continued revitalization of the Bengals rushing offense, with BenJarvus Green-Ellis rushing for 129 yards, scoring a touchdown. As a whole the Bengals rushed for a season-high 221 yards.

Things would get hairy in the second half, however, as the Cincy offense went silent in the third quarter as the Raiders put 10 quick points on the board to eat into the Bengals' lead. The Raiders appeared to cut the lead down to just one score in the fourth quarter, when Joselio Hanson returned a fumble for a touchdown. The play was ruled dead due to an inadvertent whistle and gave the Bengals another chance on third down.

The Bengals have now won three straight games after a four-game losing streak, and will next face the San Diego Chargers on Sunday at 4:25 p.m. ET.