The Cincinnati Bengals have maintained their strong start to the season as they have edged ahead of the Atlanta Falcons at half time in their NFL clash.

The Bengals started the game well on offense as Andy Dalton moved his side in the redzone, but they suffered the same problems as week one as the home side were forced to settle for a field goal from the boot of Mike Nugent.

Atlanta responded with a good drive of their own as Matt Ryan involved running backs Jacquizz Rodgers and Steven Jackson, before Matt Bryant knocked a 46-yard field goal through the posts to even the scores.

However, just before the break, the Bengals took the lead thanks to one big play from Giovani Bernard, as he collected a short pass from Dalton and ran all the way to Atlanta's 20. The back finished the drive with a four-yard run.

Nugent had the chance to extend his side's lead to 10 points just before the interval, but he dragged his field goal wide of the post - his third miss of the half.