The Cincinnati Bengals parlayed six Baltimore turnovers into 24 points and held on to beat the Ravens 27-20 on Monday in the National Football League season opener for both teams.
The game ended, appropriately enough, with a turnover by the Ravens.
Facing a 3rd-and-goal at the 2-yard line, backup quarterback Kyle Boller drilled a pass into the stomach of tight end Todd Heap.
PHOTO: EPA
The ball caromed off Heap's arms and into the air, from where Bengals defensive end Mike Myers made a diving interception in the end zone to seal the outcome.
Two huge penalties -- one to each side -- were integral in the final two minutes.
The Ravens seemingly had tied it when Boller hit Heap in the back of the end zone on fourth down with 1:54 to play, but Heap was whistled for offensive interference on a questionable call.
On the ensuing play, Cincinnati's Madieu Williams was flagged for holding, giving the Ravens a first down at the 5-yard line and setting up the dramatic final sequence.
In San Francisco, the Arizona Cardinals kept the 49ers bottled up for much of the game, until the home team advanced the length of the field for the winning score, a one-yard touchdown by Arnaz Battle with 22 seconds to play.
The 49ers beat the Cardinals 20-17 in the season opener for both teams. Despite an ugly offensive performance, San Francisco snapped a four-game losing streak against the Cardinals.
The 49ers were limited to just 109 total yards through the first 57 minutes, but put together an unlikely 12-play, 86-yard drive to seize the victory.
The winning touchdown came on an end-around to Battle, one play after Battle had fumbled into the end zone where teammate Darrell Jackson recovered.
In a ceremony at halftime, the 49ers paid tribute to their late coach Bill Walsh, who guided San Francisco to three Super Bowl victories in his 10 years at the helm.
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