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Bengals hand Pats 1st loss, end Brady's TD streak

Oct 6, 2013 - 9:58 PM Cincinnati, OH (SportsNetwork.com) - BenJarvus Green-Ellis was no stranger to the end zone during his four seasons with New England.

Now a member of the Cincinnati Bengals, the running back scored the lone touchdown in Sunday's 13-6 win over the previously unbeaten Patriots at Paul Brown Stadium.

Green-Ellis ran straight ahead from a yard out on fourth down with 9:21 remaining in the fourth quarter. The touchdown capped a 14-play, 93-yard drive and put the Bengals up 13-3.

New England and the Tom Brady-led offense reached the red zone for the first time in the game on its next possession. Brady connected with Aaron Dobson on a crossing pattern and the rookie wide receiver broke two tackles before recovering his own fumble at the Cincinnati 17.

Brady, who had his remarkable consecutive games streak with a touchdown pass snapped at 52, narrowly extended the run with a 16-yard completion to a returning Danny Amendola. Three failed attempts from the 1-yard line resulted in New England settling for a Stephen Gostkowski field goal with 6:28 to play.

Cincinnati looked to run the ball and chew up the remaining time, but New England defensive back Devin McCourty forced a fumble by rookie running back Giovani Bernard. Linebacker Jerod Mayo recovered at the Cincinnati 46, but the Patriots' offense failed to get a first down.

The New England defense then forced a three-and-out, but Bengals cornerback Adam Jones secured the win by intercepting Brady at the Cincinnati 3.

Andy Dalton completed 20-of-27 passes for 212 yards with one interception for Cincinnati (3-2), which featured a defensive unit that held Brady to under 200 yards passing.

"A great job by the defensive players and coaches," said Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis.

Green-Ellis, who totaled 29 touchdowns on the ground as a Patriot from 2008-11, finished with 67 yards on 19 carries.

Brady had 197 yards on 18-of-38 passing and finished two games shy of tying Drew Brees' NFL record for consecutive games with a touchdown pass.

Amendola, back after missing three games with a groin injury, was targeted nine times, but made only four receptions for 55 yards. LeGarrette Blount ran the ball 12 times and accumulated 51 yards for New England (4-1).

"It just wasn't very good execution," Brady said. "It's a very good defense, I give them a lot of credit. They put a lot of pressure on you in a lot of areas. Our execution needed to be really good (and) it just wasn't."

The Bengals were moving the ball late in the first quarter, only for the promising drive to be derailed by a turnover. Facing a 2nd-and-7 from the New England 9, Dalton rolled to his right and threw back across his body. The intended pass for rookie tight end Tyler Eifert wound up in the hands of linebacker Brandon Spikes.

The interception on the last play of the opening quarter was the first Dalton had thrown in the red zone in his career.

In the second quarter, Blount fumbled after the Patriots were finally able to move the ball across midfield. Defensive end Carlos Dunlap stripped the ball from behind and safety Reggie Nelson made the recovery before being tackled at the Cincinnati 30 after a modest gain on the return.

The Bengals produced points on the ensuing drive, as Mike Nugent kicked a 39- yard field goal with 3:12 remaining in the first half.

New England was able to get on the board prior to halftime, with Gostkowski converting a 42-yarder in the waning seconds.

Cincinnati regained the lead in the third quarter, when Nugent drilled a 50- yarder after a near-interception by New England cornerback Aqib Talib in the end zone.

The next Bengals drive bled into the fourth quarter and resulted in the short TD run by the former Patriot. The series got off to an inauspicious start, with Dalton sacked for an 8-yard loss on 2nd-and-7 from the Cincinnati 10.

However, the third-year signal-caller hit wideout Marvin Jones for a 28-yard gain to move the chains. Bernard followed with a 28-yard run on the next play to put the Bengals in New England territory to begin the final quarter.

Cincinnati converted two more third downs on its way to the New England 1, where on third down defensive tackle Domata Peko, brought in as an extra blocker, was flagged for a false start. Dalton came up a yard short on a QB draw ahead of the Green-Ellis TD.

Game Notes

New England had won 63 straight games when allowing 13 or fewer points. The team suffered its first such loss since 2001 ... The six points were the Patriots' fewest in a single game since a shutout loss to Miami in Week 14 of the 2006 season ... The Patriots have now recorded a turnover in 32 straight games, the longest active streak in the NFL ...New England was 1-for-12 on third down ... Cincinnati had a 21-15 edge in first downs and outgained the Patriots 341-248 in total yards of offense.