The rest was so-so. Fitzpatrick completed his first series with a 6-yard touchdown run before the Cincinnati Bengals pulled away to a 23-12 victory over the Buccaneers on Friday night.Article continues below ... The 34-year-old quarterback signed a one-year deal for a chance to back up Jameis Winston . Fitzpatrick had mixed results after his TD
Jace Sternberger Jersey , going 6 of 13 overall with an interception. He also scrambled twice for 15 yards. Fitzpatrick lost the ball while trying to throw, but recovered his fumble. ”It’s nice to get into a game situation just figuring out how they set the tempo and pace,” Fitzpatrick said. ”It’s something I’ve had to work on.” Ryan Griffin – Tampa Bay’s third-string quarterback the past two seasons – left in the fourth quarter after someone landed on his passing shoulder. There was no estimate how long he’ll be sidelined. ”It’s all a process now,” said Griffin, who was 4 of 9 for 57 yards. ”I haven’t been hurt before, so we’ll see how it goes.” Tampa Bay opened the game with a 14-play, 92-yard drive, but had to settle for a field goal after Adam ”Pacman” Jones broke up a pair of Winston’s passes in the end zone. Jones is suspended by the NFL for the season opener because of his offseason arrest. Bengals coach Marvin Lewis was on the sideline after missing a practice last week because of a knee problem. Andy Dalton had his full complement of receivers – A.J. Green and tight end Tyler Eifert have returned from significant injuries last season – and moved the offense smoothly on Cincinnati’s opening drive before making a bad decision. Vernon Hargreaves III anticipated Dalton’s sideline throw and picked off a pass at the 1-yard line . Dalton had plenty of time to throw behind Cincinnati’s reconfigured line. ”I just wish I could have that last play back,” said Dalton, who was 4 of 5 for 38 yards on his only drive. Green, who missed the last half of last season with a hamstring injury, had a pair of catches for 21 yards. Both teams have kicker competitions that were in the spotlight in their preseason opener. Roberto Aguayo made a 20-yard field goal on Tampa Bay’s opening possession, but he was wide right on a 47-yard try and hit the right upright on the extra-point attempt. Nick Folk was good from 45 yards on his only chance. The Bengals’ kickers were perfect. Randy Bullock made field goals of 54 and 49 yards and his extra-point try. Jake Elliott
Dexter Williams Jersey , who was drafted in the fifth round, connected from 45 yards and also made an extra point. ”We both had a good night tonight,” Elliott said. ”We put all of them through, which is what you want.” INJURIES Buccaneers: CB Brent Grimes (leg) and C Ali Marpet (ankle) sat out. RB Russell Hansbrough left in the fourth quarter to be evaluated for a concussion. Bengals: RB Giovani Bernard was held out along with first-round pick WR John Ross, who is recovering from offseason shoulder surgery. Bernard has fully practiced in camp while recovering from ACL surgery midway through last season. ROOKIE WATCH Buccaneers: TE O.J. Howard, the 19th overall pick, didn’t have a catch, with only one pass thrown his way. WR Chris Godwin had one catch for 14 yards. Bengals: RB Joe Mixon had several nice runs, avoiding tacklers to get extra yards. He carried six times for 31 yards and turned his only reception into an 11-yard gain by slipping through a pair of attempted tackles. He’s competing with Jeremy Hill for playing time. ”Once I got that first carry and got the first-game jitters out of the way, I adjusted,” Mixon said. ”It was just playing football.” SORTING OUT THE RBs Tampa Bay will miss Doug Martin for the first three games as he serves a suspension for violating the NFL’s policy on p Buccaneers: Play at Jacksonville on Thursday. Bengals: Host Kansas City next Saturday. — ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — The young Dallas defense stuffed the NFL’s No. 1 rushing offense in a wild-card win over the Seattle Seahawks.Now it’s time for the Cowboys to take on either the league’s all-time leader in yards passing in Drew Brees of New Orleans, or this year’s fifth-best passing offense in Jared Goff and the Los Angeles Rams. The divisional round game will be next weekend.A group now led by playmaking linebackers Leighton Vander Esch and Jaylon Smith, rather than 2016 All-Pro Sean Lee, has been up to the challenge all season. And that included a 13-10 win over Brees that ended the Saints’ 10-game winning streak.“We’ve got to take the same mindset next week … and not get too far ahead of ourselves,” Vander Esch said. “We can be confident, but there’s a difference between being confident and being overly, maybe I should say cocky, if you want to use that word. We do a pretty good job of bringing ourselves back down.”In a 24-22 win that ended what the Elias Sports Bureau said was the Seahawks’ record streak of nine straight victories in playoff openers, the Cow It’s about winning your gap. It’s about setting the edge. It’s about tackling. But it’s also about physical and mental toughness. That’s a really important part of our football team.”The Cowboys believe that applies to defending the pass as well. Although they sacked Brees just twice, there were five quarterback hits in one of his worst games of the season. Dallas has been a top-10 defense most of the season.“The confidence is there, but it’s all about being patient and executing,” said defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence, who led the team in sacks for the second straight year with 10½ and made his second consecutive Pro Bowl. “It doesn’t matter about your confidence.”AHEAD OF SCHEDULEThe Seahawks won six of their last seven in the regular season to reach the playoffs a year after missing for the only time in Wilson’s seven seasons. They overhauled the defense and lost one of the mainstays they decided to keep in disgruntled safety Earl Thomas, who broke his leg in Week 4. And they found Wilson a running game without a big name such as Marshawn Lynch.“Nobody thought we were going to be here, so we’re miles ahead of where expectations were,” said coach Pete Carroll, who got a three-year extension a 57-yard field goal try on the final play of the first half. The 40-year-old isn’t under contract for next season, and Carroll figured he simply hurt himself trying to kick the ball as hard as he could.The question is whether Seattle, or any other team, will want to take the risk after the Seahawks were left with no good options for an onside kick down two points with 1:18 left. Michael Dickson’s drop-kick went too far and was an easy game-sealing catch for Dallas receiver Cole Beasley. Plus, it was the second time in the last three weeks of the season that Seattle had an injury issue with Janikowski.LEANING ON ELLIOTTNFL rushing champion Ezekiel Elliott was the only skill position player to sit out Dallas’ 36-35 win over the New York Giants in the regular-season finale with the Cowboys already locked in as the NFC’s fourth seed. He was busy again in his return, with 26 carries for 137 yards and four catches for 32 yards. It was his fourth game of at least 30 touches this season. Expect a heavy load again in a week. “I’m glad I took the week off,” he said. “We have bigger things.”
