Andy Dalton, Dallas Cowboys get gratifying win in 30-7 blowout of the Bengals
Andy Dalton is not normally one for showing a lot emotion.
But he couldn’t help himself Sunday following the Dallas Cowboys 30-7 victory against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Dalton spent nine years as the face of the Bengals before being cut last May after they drafted Joe Burrow, last year’s Heisman Trophy winner, with the No. 1 overall pick.
The return to Cincinnati in his sixth start in replace of injured Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott proved to be emotional from the moment he got off the plane. He was greeted warmly at the hotel.
The Cowboys made Dalton a game captain, he gave a pre-game speech and he led the team on the field.
And he capped the day with a 7-yard touchdown pass to Tony Pollard in the fourth quarter to put to put the finishing touches on a two touchdown performance and making a loving gesture to his wife in the booth before being showered with water and being given the game ball in the locker room.
“My wife has been such a big supporter of my from the beginning,” said Dalton, who completed an efficient 16 of 23 passes for 185 yards and two touchdowns. “One of the things I enjoyed most was having her here. For both us, it was pure joy. I’m not the only one dealing with emotions. She was dealing with a lot of emotions. It was moment both us will never forget. I am very happen we got this win.”
As bad as the Cowboys needed the win for themselves, they knew how much it meant to Dalton and wanted to hand deliver him satisfaction at Paul Brown Stadium, which linebacker Sean Lee told his teammates was a place “that Andy built.”
“This win was definitely special for him,” coach Mike McCarthy said. He wanted to win this game. Everybody in the locker room wanted to win it for him. It meant lot for us as a team because of our season. But it also because of Andy. This win was truly gratifying on a number of fronts.”
Considering how the Cowboys’ season and the previous two games went, Sunday’s game created an opportunity to unleash some pent up frustration.
In addition to Dalton return, the team’s maligned defense came into the game with something to prove, and the unit responded with its best performance of the season.
The Cowboys defense, which was scolded by McCarthy for not giving enough effort late in last Tuesday’s 34-17 loss to the Baltimore Ravens, forced three fumbles in the first half to help spark a 17-0 second-quarter lead. Defensive end Aldon Smith had a 78-yard fumble return for a touchdown.
All three forced fumbles came on running plays as the Cowboys allowed just 101 yards rushing five days after giving up 294 against the Ravens.
“The defense definitely set the tone early with the takeaways,” McCarthy said. “I think clearly when you talk about stressing the fundamentals and we know where we are as far as the turnover differential going into the game and when you see the takeaways are done on second-reaction, second-effort type plays. That’s how they usually come, they come in bunches. So, that was huge for us, plus three. Winning the turnover battle was clearly a big part of our victory. It was a very gratifying win for us.”
The Cowboys entered Sunday in last place in the NFC East, however, despite the win, they gained no ground on the division leader. Washington Football Team (6-7) defeated the San Francisco 49ers, 23-15, in a game that was played at the Arizona Cardinals’ stadium because of the pandemic. Dallas (4-9) now trails Washington by two games with two games to play, and Washington holds the tiebreaker edge as they swept the season series.
The Cowboys host the 49ers (5-8) AT&T Stadium next Sunday before finishing the season against the Philadelphia Eagles at home and the Giants on the road. They basically need to finish 3-0 and have help in order to keep their fledgling playoff hopes alive.
“This year has been so crazy in our division,” Dalton said. “We did our part, and we just got to keep focusing and finding ways to win. We’ll see how this whole thing shakes out. Like I said, the division isn’t over yet. For us, we just got to handle our business.”
McCarthy said the focus is just on improving and getting better to close out the season. The division situation will take care of itself.
But he knows from his experience in his first year with the Green Bay Packers in 2006 when they started 4-8 and won their last four games to finish 8-8 that late-season momentum can carry over. The Packers were 13-3 and made it the NFC Championship game the following year.
“I thought that it was one of the foundation blocks for my time in Green Bay, those last four wins because it was something that we built on, talked about and emphasized throughout the whole off season,” McCarthy said. “So, I definitely do believe that success at the end of the season catapults you into your offseason program and can very well factor into next year. So, to accomplish [finishing 4-0] would say a lot about our football team especially what we’ve gone through. I think that’s why today is so gratifying.”
Now, the focus is winning back-to-back games for the first time all season with the benefit of a regular seven-day week in between after playing Bengals on five days rest.
The Cowboys defense stole the show early Sunday with forced fumbles on the first three drives. Defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence stripped running back Giovani Bernard on the first drive of the game, and the Cowboys converted that into a 34-yard field goal from Greg Zuerlein.
On the ensuing drive, Bengals running back Trayevon Williams coughed it up after running into the back of one of his own teammates. Smith returned it 78 yards to the end zone for his first career score.
It was the fifth-longest fumble return in team history, and the longest since Greg Ellis had a 98-yard fumble return touchdown against Arizona on Oct. 3, 1999.
And the third time the Bengals had the ball safety Darian Thompson knocked it loose from Bengals receiver Alex Erickson on fourth-and-1 at the Dallas 15. Jaylon Smith recovered the ball.
And that’s when Dalton got into the act, leading Cowboys 88 yards to the end zone.
Dalton, who completed 9 of 11 passes for 92 yards in the first half, hit Amari Cooper for an 11-yard score to make it 17-0.
The three forced fumbles and fumble recoveries in the first half tied the record for the most forced fumbles in the first half of a game in franchise history.
The Cowboys came into the game tied for last in the league with just 11 takeaways, including six fumble recoveries. They had three Sunday in the first half.
And they had scored just 28 points all season on turnovers. They had 17 in the first half against the Bengals.
“We know what’s at stake and we know what’s in front of us,” Lawrence said. “We gotta just finish these games out the right way. Make sure we stack these wins on top of each other and keep getting better. And that’s how we have to keep moving forward.”
This story was originally published December 13, 2020 at 7:05 PM.
