Cowboys defense has their best game in win over Cincinnati
In this week’s Tank Bowl, the Dallas Cowboys beat the Cincinnati Bengals
On a flexed game, the Dallas Cowboys went to Cincinnati to play the Bengals. Both teams were at the bottom of the standings, making this matchup the Tank Bowl of Week 14. A loss in this game would have the Cowboys in position to draft third overall.
Starting this game was quarterback Andy Dalton. It was the first game against his former team, for which he played nine seasons. He is the Bengals’ franchise leader for passing touchdowns and completions and behind only Ken Anderson for passing yards.
Dalton must have been looking forward to this matchup. It was his chance to get back at the rookie quarterback, Joe Burrow, who pushed Dalton off of the roster. Instead, he was up against a 2016 sixth-round draft pick in Brandon Allen, with Burrow injured for the season.
The defense impressed early, with two forced fumbles and three recovered fumbles on the Bengals’ first three drives. The most impressive one resulted in a 78-yard return for a touchdown by edge rusher Aldon Smith.
The Cowboys almost had their first game of the season of not giving up points in the first half of a game. Unfortunately, wide receiver A.J. Green caught a five-yard touchdown with 11 seconds left in the second quarter to spoil that. It ties the fewest points Dallas gave up in the first half this season.
The defense more than held their own in the second half of the game. Cincinnati did not score one point after halftime. That’s the first time all season the Cowboys were able to do that. That led to their first game of giving up under 20 points in a game.
It was only the second game in the past eight games that Dallas scored at least 14 points in the first half. The other game they won was their win against the Minnesota Vikings.
By the end of the game, Dallas scored 30 points. Even taking away the defensive touchdown, the offense scored 23 points. It’s only the second game that the team scored 20+ points without quarterback Dak Prescott.
Dallas finished the game with 37 fewer offensive yards than the Bengals. Despite that, the Cowboys finished the game with a 23-point lead. Andy Dalton got his revenge against his former team.
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Final Score: 30-7 Dallas
The Cowboys return to Dallas next week to play the San Francisco 49ers at 12:00 pm CDT on Sunday.