Cowboys, Dalton unleash frustration on Bengals

The Dallas Cowboys finally showed some pride and some fight.

But now do they have renewed life?

That’s the question after the Cowboys unleashed some pent up frustration on the Cincinnati Bengals in a 30-7 road victory.

Quarterback Andy Dalton and the team’s maligned defense came into the game something to prove and responded with their best performances of the season.

Dalton spent the first nine seasons of his career as the Bengals quarterback before being let go last spring when they drafted LSU’S Joe Burrow with the No. 1 overall pick.

Dalton, starting his sixth game in place of the injured Dak Prescott, showed his former hometown fans some of his old brilliance.

He completed 16 of 23 passes for 185 yards and threw touchdown passes of 11 and 7 yards to receiver Amari Cooper and running back Tony Pollard.

And the Cowboys defense, which was scolded by coach Mike 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.

Kicker Greg Zeurlein, who missed three field goals against the Ravens, made his only two kicks against the Bengals, including a 55-yarder with 5:12 left in the fourth quarter to end any realistic hopes of a late comeback by Cincinnati.

And with the New York Giants (5-8) losing to the Arizona Cardinals, the Cowboys (4-9) now trail them by one game as they wait on results of Washington-san Francisco 49ers game later Sunday afternoon.

Washington (5-7) and the Giants opened the day as co-leaders in the NFC East.

The Cowboys host the 49ers AT&T Stadium next Sunday before finishing the season against the Philadelphia Eagles at home and the Giants on the road in an attempt to keep their fledgling playoff hopes alive.

The Cowboys defense stole the show early 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 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 98yard fumble return TD 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.

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 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.