ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. - Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton celebrated a warm reception in Buffalo by completing two touchdown passes in leading Cincinnati to a 26-13 preseason win over the Bills.
Linebacker Carl Lawson had 2 1/2 of the Bengals five sacks in the first half, during which Cincinnati's defense overwhelmed Buffalo's starting offense and rookie quarterback Josh Allen.
The Bengals improved their preseason record to 3-0, and Buffalo dropped to 1-2.
However, the bigger story with the game came off the field.
Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton took the field for Sunday's preseason game in Buffalo to a standing ovation from Bills fans, who will long remember his last-second heroics in Week 17 last season.
Dalton's 48-yard touchdown pass to Tyler Boyd in the final minute of last year's regular-season finale defeated the Baltimore Ravens and allowed the Bills to sneak into the playoffs.
As a result, fans in Buffalo showed their appreciation by donating to Dalton's charitable foundation -- many of them in $17 increments to signify an end to the Bills' 17-year absence from the NFL postseason.
The Bills cashed a Matt Barkley interception for a touchdown late in the third quarter when rookie wide receiver Auden Tate let the ball glance off his hands for a deflection that put the ball on the Bengals 26. Running back Travaris Cadet punched it in from the 1 to make it 23-13, but the Bengals defensive line of Ryan Glasgow, Josh Tupou and Jordan Willis stood up Cadet for a one-yard loss on the two-point conversion.
The Bengals lost safety Josh Shaw (hamstring) and guard Christian Westerman (back) during the second half. They also saw running back Jarveon Williams (knee) and safety Brandon Wilson (unknown) exit.
They also got some nifty runs from running back Tra Carson, like the back-to-back pushes for 22 yards that bailed them out of a first-and-20, but the Tate pick came on the next snap.
Barkley got three points on the board on the first drive of the second half on passes of 21 to wide receiver Tyler Boyd, 20 to Alex Erickson and 15 over the middle to Carson.
The back-up offensive line did get nailed for a holding call on tackle Jake Fisher, but Carson had more room than the first team did with 21 yards on his first three carries.
Rookie safety Trayvon Henderson racked up the Bengals' sixth sack of the game to pretty much seal it.
