Brees played the first half and guided the Saints to scores on their first two possessions. Ronnie Ghent caught the lone touchdown of the game while Martin Gramatica and Taylor Mehlhaff each made a field goal.

Cincinnati's Carson Palmer played the first half and went 11-for-16 for 105 yards, but was sacked three times and suffered a bloody nose. Ben Utecht caught four passes for 49 yards for the Bengals, who had just 165 yards in total offense.