Joe Burrow starts and backup Joe Flacco throws a TD pass as Bengals beat Lions 16-14

CINCINNATI (AP) — Joe Flacco threw a touchdown pass in relief of Joe Burrow, Evan McPherson kicked three field goals and the Cincinnati Bengals beat the Detroit Lions 16-14 Thursday night in the preseason opener for both teams.

Cincinnati coach Zac Taylor got his starters at least three plays. Burrow and the first-string offensive line played two series, with the franchise quarterback going 5 of 6 for 39 yards.

“The number one focus I think we walk away from is we got the win,” Taylor said. “I think a lot of guys got a lot of opportunity today to really showcase their abilities.”

Detroit's Dan Campbell didn’t play most of his starters, including quarterback Jared Goff, running back Jahmyr Gibbs and edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson. Offensive tackle Blake Miller, taken with the 17th overall pick in the NFL draft, was in for 33 snaps, all in the first half.

Luke Altmyer played most of the game and went 13 of 22 for 130 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. The undrafted rookie directed a 12-play, 80-yard touchdown drive late in the fourth quarter, capped by his 24-yard pass to Tarik Black with 1:35 remaining. Altmyer's 2-point conversion on a keeper got the Lions within 16-14.

Cincinnati recovered the onside kick but went three-and-out and punted. Russ Yeast then picked off Altmyer at the Lions 35.

Detroit also got a pair of first-half field goals from Jake Bates on a sloppy night for the offense. The Lions committed three turnovers and also turned it over on downs at the Cincinnati 29 late in the first quarter.

Campbell was pleased that his defense held the Bengals to only one touchdown.

“I from afar felt that our defense competed and made some plays. It wasn’t perfect but they held their own for a first preseason game,” he said.

The Lions drove to the Bengals 33 on the first series before Jordan Battle picked off Altmyer at the 25 after the pass went off the hands of wide receiver Isaac TeSlaa.

The Bengals turned a Lions turnover into a touchdown in the second quarter. A bad handoff between Altmyer and Jacob Saylors was recovered by defensive end Cashius Howell, Cincinnati's second-round pick, at the Lions 7.

Two plays later, Flacco connected with rookie tight end Jack Endries on a 4-yard screen pass to make it 10-0. Flacco finished 5 of 8 for 51 yards.

Third-string QB Josh Johnson was 10 of 19 for 84 yards.

Burrow was in for 13 snaps. He threw a 16-yard strike down the middle to Ja'Marr Chase on the Bengals' second offensive play.

He completed passes to four players, including two to running back Samaje Perine.

With Taylor trying to show different looks on offense, Burrow was under center on the first four plays and seven overall.

“We’re working to get better in all facets, that certainly being one of them and adding that to our system and see where it can take us,” Burrow said.

One thing Taylor won't like is that Burrow was sacked once and then hit while throwing on third-and-4 from the Lions 38 during the second series. That drive ended with McPherson's 56-yard field goal.

Defensive tackles Dexter Lawrence and Jonathan Allen both played three snaps. The Bengals traded their first-round pick to the Giants to get Lawrence, while Allen signed during free agency after playing for the Vikings last season.

“They were going to play less than anybody else,” Taylor said. “The fans have been excited about a lot of the new acquisitions we’ve had, and so I wanted them to have a chance to see that huddle break and those guys go out there.”

Detroit quarterback Joshua Dobbs, signed as a free agent on Monday, led the Lions to field goals on two of his three series. The 10-year veteran completed 4 of 8 passes for 32 yards.

Lions backup cornerback Ennis Rakestraw suffered an arm contusion during the second quarter and did not return. Defensive lineman Mekhi Wingo is in the concussion protocol.

Lions: Host Washington on Aug. 22.

Bengals: Host Chicago on Aug. 22.

See AP’s full NFL coverage here

Detroit Lions wide receiver Tarik Black (12) runs for a 24-yard touchdown reception as Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Joe Giles-Harris (43) defends during the second half of a preseason NFL football game Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Detroit Lions quarterback Luke Altmyer (2) throws against the Cincinnati Bengals during the first half of a preseason NFL football game Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)

Cincinnati Bengals tight end Jack Endries (84) scores on a four-yard touchdown reception against the Detroit Lions during the first half of a preseason NFL football game Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)

Detroit Lions running back Jacob Saylors (25) tries to get around Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Demetrius Knight Jr. (44) during the first half of a preseason NFL football game Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Flacco (16) throws against the Detroit Lions during the first half of an preseason NFL football game Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow (9) signals at the line of scrimmage against the Detroit Lions during the first half of a preseason NFL football game Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster))

DYERSVILLE, Iowa (AP) — Major League Baseball came back to the Field of Dreams carrying a big piece of Cooperstown.

The pregame pomp before the Minnesota Twins played the Philadelphia Phillies — adjacent to the farmland where the 1989 fantasy was filmed — featured 26 members of the Hall of Fame emerging from the outfield corn just as the ghost players did in the movie.

With some of the loudest cheers saved for former Phillies third baseman Mike Schmidt and former Twins catcher Joe Mauer, the capacity crowd of about 8,000 at the newly constructed ballpark in northeast Iowa soaked up the surreal atmosphere as the aged stars strolled into the infield for proper introductions.

Fireworks were launched from the cornfield during the national anthem, and Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber followed with his own big bang — a stalk shot to right on Twins starter Taj Bradley's third pitch of the game that set the tone for a 7-1 win on Thursday night.

After stealing the show at the inaugural 2021 event, which was played on the same footprint at a temporary setup that also hosted the 2022 game, Kevin Costner did not appear.

But the star of the film — as the restless farmer Ray Kinsella who reconnects with his late father by playing catch on his front-yard ballfield — narrated the pregame video that helped pump some old-guard nostalgia through the new-school broadcast on global streaming giant Netflix.

Both teams emerged from the corn together to take their places along the lines like on opening day, and Twins All-Star Byron Buxton — who came off the injured list in the afternoon to play — took the microphone to evoke a line from James Earl Jones, who played the author Terence Mann in the movie.

“The one constant through all the years has been baseball," Buxton said before Schwarber followed with a brief script on an idyllic late-summer night after heavy rain moved through the area earlier in the day.

Then came the legends, and living ones at that, unlike those wool-clad lads in the movie.

Schmidt and Steve Carlton wore Phillies uniforms along with Jim Kaat, who played for both teams. Mauer and Bert Blyleven donned Twins jerseys. The others — Andruw Jones, Harold Baines, Fred McGriff, Adrián Beltré, Andre Dawson, Larry Walker, Cal Ripken Jr., Iván Rodríguez, Jim Thome, Scott Rolen, Tony Pérez, Tony La Russa, Jeff Kent, Fergie Jenkins, Joe Torre, CC Sabathia, Billy Wagner, Rollie Fingers, Lee Smith and Trevor Hoffman — helped form a half-ring around the diamond to represent about one-third of the Cooperstown contingent that's still alive.

This was the largest such gathering at a ballpark, not including the annual ceremonies at the Hall of Fame in upstate New York, since the All-Star Game in 2008 that feted the final season at old Yankee Stadium.

Phillies manager Don Mattingly relished the brief pregame mingle before the grand entrance, with many in the group contemporaries of his as a player in the 1980s and 1990s and a few others in Jones and Kent he was able to coach with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

“It was definitely good to see the boys,” Mattingly said.

Before the game, Buxton played catch with his 12-year-old son on the nearby movie site that remains open to the public for no cost on non-event days. Twins manager Derek Shelton did the same with his 78-year-old father, a former educator who coached him on his high school baseball team. Shelton later complained that his arm was in weaker shape.

“You don’t get old enough that an experience like that is not emotional to be able to do something with your father,” Shelton said.

Mattingly, whose son just happens to be the club's general manager, found himself harkening back to Indiana childhood ballgames with his brothers upon arrival on the team bus.

“This place reminds me of when I was a kid,” Mattingly said. "You’d go down a dirt road, and all of sudden you’d see a cornfield and then there’d be a field there."

Both teams wore throwback uniforms — the Twins in home threads from their first season in 1961 and the Phillies in road jerseys circa 1940 — in step with the hand-operated scoreboard in right field.

The permanent ballpark built for all kinds of events — including the opportunity to host MLB games on a recurring basis — also has plenty of amenities with the video board in left field, a state-of-the-art sound system and, of course, indoor plumbing.

The feel of the farm was just as strong as the buzz of the ballpark, with natural sponsor John Deere pledging $100,000 per home run hit to hunger-relief organization Feeding America.

The special environment didn't erase the circumstance of the stretch run of the regular season, though, with both the Twins and Phillies in the thick of their respective wild-card races.

“We’re not in Minnesota for three days," Phillies star Bryce Harper said, "but we’re still playing the Twins three times and we've still got to win some games."

Even in defeat, the Twins enjoyed taking part in something bigger than simply the 123rd game on their schedule.

“As you grow in this game and get older and play more games, the shine of being in the big leagues and walking out on a big league field starts to wear off,” catcher Ryan Jeffers said. “Moments like this kind of bring that excitement and that energy and the goosebumps similar to your debut day.”

See AP’s full MLB coverage here

Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Jonathan Bowlan talks with Paul Scherrman, right, of Farley, Iowa, before a baseball game against the Minnesota Twins at the Field of Dreams movie site, Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026, in Dyersville, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

Minnesota Twins manager Derek Shelton walks off the field after a team photo before a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies at the Field of Dreams movie site, Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026, in Dyersville, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

Minnesota Twins pitcher Dean Kremer poses for a photo in a cornfield before a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies at the Field of Dreams movie site, Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026, in Dyersville, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

Scoreboard workers look on before a baseball game between the Minnesota Twins and the Philadelphia Phillies at the Field of Dreams movie site, Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026, in Dyersville, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

Players walk onto the field before a baseball game between the Minnesota Twins and the Philadelphia Phillies at the Field of Dreams movie site, Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026, in Dyersville, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)