Other receivers get more publicity, but A.J. Green reminded a national TV audience he’s as dominant as any of them.

Green, the Cincinnati Bengals’ star, put on a show for the “Thursday Night Football” fans tuning in. It didn’t even take him long to have a career game.

With 13:02 left in the second quarter, Green scored his third touchdown against the Baltimore Ravens. That’s his first career three-touchdown game, and he had it before 17 minutes had elapsed in the game.

The Ravens never got out of the hole Green created for them. Baltimore battled after being down 21-0 and a touchdown in the fourth quarter cut Cincinnati’s lead to 28-23, but the Bengals drove for a field goal and then safety Shawn Williams forced a Joe Flacco fumble on a sack to effectively seal the game. The Bengals improved to 2-0 with the 34-23 win.

A.J. Green had three touchdowns on first three catches

The Ravens have a pretty good secondary, and they had no chance against Green.

On Green’s first touchdown, he ran a great route to the corner of the end zone and Andy Dalton zipped in a pass to him while moving to his right. Green’s second touchdown was all him. He took a short slant, broke a tackle and ran past safety Eric Weddle like Weddle was standing still.

Two touchdowns in a full game is a pretty nice night, but Green wanted more. On third-and-goal at the Ravens’ 7-yard line, Green caught one in the end zone for his third touchdown.

That made it three catches, three scores for Green and a shocking 21-0 lead for the Bengals. The Ravens never led the game on Thursday night, after Green’s hot start.

Green having a huge start to 2018 season

Due to injuries a couple years ago, or last season’s offensive debacle with a terrible offensive line and an early-season coordinator change, Green’s numbers dipped. It was clear he hadn’t lost much as a player, but he had just four touchdowns in 2016. He already had four scores in a little more than five quarters of the 2018 season.

If anyone thought Green wasn’t among the NFL’s elite receivers anymore, he reminded them on Thursday night.

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Frank Schwab is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdown.corner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
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