With a 32-yard run on the Cincinnati Bengals’ first offensive snap of the game, running back BenJarvus Green-Ellis eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark for the second time in his career.

Green-Ellis finished with 19 carries for 106 yards to give him 1,080 for the season, surpassing his previous career high of 1,008 he set in 2010 while with New England.

It’s the fourth time in the last five games he has gone over 100 yards. He also scored the team’s first touchdown on a 1-yard run early in the first quarter.

“Benny did a good job with things,” Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis said. “But Benny doesn’t block anybody. We’ve got to keep blocking him and doing the things we do.”

It’s the seventh time in Lewis’ 10 years as head coach the Bengals have had a 1,000-yard rusher. Rudi Johnson did it three years in a row from 2004-06, and Cedric Benson did it three years in a row from 2009-11.

Green-Ellis becomes the ninth player in franchise history to go over the 1,000-yard mark, joining Paul Robinson (1,023 in 1968), Pete Johnson (1,077, 1981), James Brooks (1,087, 1986; 1,239, 1989; 1,004, 1990), Ickey Woods (1,066, 1988), Harold Green (1,170, 1992), Corey Dillon (1,129, 1997; 1,130, 1998; 1,200, 1999; 1,435, 2000; 1,315, 2001; 1,311, 2002; Rudi Johnson (1,454, 2004; 1,458, 2005; 1,309, 2006), Cedric Benson (1,251, 2009; 1,111, 2010; 1,067, 2011).

Green-Ellis becomes just the fourth player to reach 1,000 yards in his first season with the Bengals. Robinson, Woods and Dillon all did it in their rookie seasons.

Boom blocks

For the second game in a row, Bengals rookie Dan Herron had a role in blocking a punt.

Sunday against Dallas he got his hands on a Brian Moorman punt, and Thursday at Philadelphia he drove the Eagles’ Marvin McNutt into the path of Mat McBriar’s punt.

Herron chased down the loose ball and recovered it at the Philadelphia 11, setting up a 24-yard field goal by Josh Brown that gave the Bengals a 10-0 first-quarter lead.

“I was trying to beat him off the edge, but he tried to play my inside so I just drove him back into the punter,” Herron said. “It just hit his back. I made a big play. For a second I saw it over there. We were kind of fighting for it and I finally got him off me and I just tried to get on the ball as fast as I could.”

Chance to dance

Wallace Gilberry scored the first touchdown of his career with a 25-yard fumble recovery in the third quarter, but the moment he’s been waited for his whole life came upon him so fast he forgot to celebrate.

“As a kid you dream about that situation, and you fantasize about what you would do, what kind of celebration you do,” he said. “When it happened, it happened so fast. I didn’t know if it was going to be overturned. Then you look up and we’re kicking (an extra point) and that’s when it hit me that, ‘Man, I just scored a touchdown in the NFL.’ It feels good. As a guy on the defensive side of the ball, you don’t really have many opportunities to score a touchdown. I wanted to flip into the end zone or do a cartwheel. But I froze up.”

Fast start

The Bengals scored a touchdown on their opening drive of the game for the seventh time this year, which is the most in the NFL.

They have done it four times in the last five games.

Thursday’s opening drive was a short, 47-yard one after Carlos Dunlap knocked the ball loose from Philadelphia receiver Jeremy Maclin, and Domata Peko recovered it. It was the start of what would be five turnovers for the Eagles, and it led to a six-play drive that Bengals running back BenJarvus Green-Ellis capped with a 1-yard touchdown plunge, his sixth rushing TD of the season.

The Bengals tacked on a field goal on their next drive and led the Eagles 10-0 after the first quarter. In the last six games, the Bengals have outscored their opponents 62-9 in the opening quarter.

Pressley, Whitworth hurt

Fullback Chris Pressley left the game in the first quarter with a right knee injury and did not return, and offensive tackle Andrew Whitworth suffered a concussion in the second quarter. Whitworth did return, but later left the game for good in the fourth quarter.

Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis indicated Pressley’s injury might be serious but said he didn’t want to speculate too much.

Pressley’s absence was a big reason why the Bengals struggled to run the ball and protect quarterback Andy Dalton in a second quarter that saw them gain just 22 yards while surrendering three sacks.

“Pressley’s a major loss,” guard Kevin Zeitler said. “He’s a big-time fullback. He makes the blocks. When you have to make a quick switch to people who haven’t done it as much, it’s a big adjustment. We ran the same stuff we always do, but you could definitely feel the difference when Pressley wasn’t in.”

Tight end Orson Charles filled the fullback role in Pressley’s absence.

Jinx jettisoned

Thursday’s win was the Bengals first in primetime since the 2007 season opener when they beat Baltimore 27-20 at Paul Brown Stadium.

Cincinnati had lost nine in a row under the lights since then.

And it had been 17 years since they won a primetime game on the road. The last victory had been a 27-9 win at Pittsburgh in a Thursday night game on Oct. 19, 1995.

Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis was a Steelers assistant at the time.

Turnover tale

The five turnovers the Bengals forced were the team’s most since coming up with six in a 21-7 win at Baltimore on Nov. 11, 2007. The Eagles, meanwhile, had only recovered three fumbles all year and none since Nov. 5, but they came up with two in the second quarter, both on sacks of Andy Dalton.