Cincinnati Bengals beat Kansas City Chiefs, improve to 4-0

CINCINNATI -- Andy Dalton completed his first 10 pass attempts and finished with 321 yards, and running back Jeremy Hill scored three touchdowns as the Cincinnati Bengals improved to 4-0 for the third time in a franchise history with a 36-21 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday at Paul Brown Stadium.

Quarterback Alex Smith was sacked five times but was 31 of 45 for 376 yards passing for Kansas City (1-3), which managed only seven field goals by Cairo Santos.

Chiefs running back Jamaal Charles had 145 all-purpose yards, and receiver Jeremy Maclin had 11 catches for 148 yards.

Bengals wide receiver A.J. Green, coming off a 227-yard performance and AFC player of the week honors, had seven catches for 82 yards on Sunday. Dalton finished 17-for-24 in the air.

Cincinnati led by two points in the third quarter when it began to pull away.

Receiver Brandon Tate beat Chiefs corner Marcus Peters, then made a diving catch inside the 5-yard line. Tate, however, wasn't touched down by Peters, so he got up and dove into the end zone for a 55-yard touchdown, making the score 21-12.

It was Tate's first catch of the season.

Later in the third, Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, a University of Cincinnati product, was stripped of the ball by defensive tackle Michael Johnson after making a catch, and cornerback Reggie Nelson returned the fumble 25 yards to the 5-yard line.

Hill's TD run and his two-point conversion run that confirmed by replay made the score 29-15 with 11 seconds left in the third quarter.

On the Bengals' opening possession, Dalton scooped up a bad snap and found Green for a 36-yard gain down the left sideline, setting up Hill's 8-yard TD run to make the score 7-0.

Dalton was 4-for-4 for 67 yards on that drive.

Cincinnati displayed a balanced attack in the first quarter, with eight passes and six rushes, including a 13-yard run by running back Gio Bernard that put the Bengals ahead 14-3.

Kansas City ranks last in the NFL in number of plays per drive. The Chiefs had drives of 78, 50, 50 and 49 yards in the first half but each resulted in field goals by Santos of 22, 34, 40 and 51 yards as Kansas City trailed 14-12 at halftime.

NOTES: Chiefs K Cairo Santos' seven field goals were the most ever for a Bengals opponent and tied for second-most in NFL history. ... Cincinnati is 4-0 for the first time since 2005 and for the third time in franchise history along with 1975 and the 1988 Super Bowl season. ... Bengals S George Iloka was inactive Sunday due to a shoulder injury, which had him listed as questionable on Friday. Shawn Williams started at safety in his place. It's the first game Iloka has missed since 2012, his rookie season. Iloka had made 35 straight starts. ... Chiefs WR Albert Wilson was inactive Sunday with a shoulder injury.