Sometimes revenge is a dish best served cold and sometimes, it’s a dish best served with a side of Cincinnati chili. In his first game back to Cincinnati since being let go by the Bengals, Andy Dalton helped propel the Cowboys to a 30-7 win against the overmatched Bengals.
Although this was billed as Dalton’ revenge game, Dalton didn’t actually have to do any of the dirty work and that’s because the Cowboys defense got revenge on the Bengals for him.
The Cowboys forced a turnover on each of Cincinnati’s first three possessions and that was a big reason Dallas was able to roll to the win. The biggest play of the game came on Cincinnati’s second possession when Bengals running back Trayveon Williams lost the football on a butt-fumble! Not only was there a butt-fumble, but Aldon Smith ended up picking up the ball and running 78 yards for a touchdown to give Dallas an early 10-0 lead.
The fact that the Cowboys recovered a three fumbles in this game was a minor miracle when you consider that they had only recovered a total of six fumbles in their first 12 games of the year. Going into Week 14, the Cowboys were on pace to have one of the worst defenses in NFL history, but apparently all they needed to do to fix things was play the Bengals.
With the Cowboys playing so well, they didn’t need much help from Dalton, but he decided to provide some anyway. The former Bengals quarterback got the last laugh on his old team when he hit Amari Cooper with a perfect strike for an 11-yard score in the second quarter.
Overall, Dalton threw for 185 yards and two touchdowns.
The Cowboys still aren’t a good team, but the good news for them is that you don’t have to be good to win the NFC East. Although they’re two games behind Washington in the NFC East, the Cowboys do have one small advantage on their side over the final three weeks of the season: They have the easiest remaining schedule of any team in the division. A lot of crazy things have happened in 2020 and although it feels like the Cowboys are out of the race, let’s not completely close the door on them just yet.
Alright, let’s get to the grades for every game from Week 14. If you’re looking for a deeper dive on the Patriots-Rams game that was played Thursday, be sure to click here.
Dallas 30-7 over Cincinnati
Chicago 36-7 over Houston
Denver 32-27 over Carolina
Tennessee 31-10 over Jacksonville
Arizona 26-7 over N.Y. Giants
Cardinals-Giants grades by Patrik Walker (Love the grades? Hate the grades? Let him know on Twitter.)
Tampa Bay 26-14 over Minnesota
Vikings-Buccaneers grades by Tyler Sullivan (Love the grades? Hate the grades? Let him know on Twitter.)
Kansas City 33-27 over Miami
Chiefs-Dolphins grades by Bryan DeArdo (Love the grades? Hate the grades? Let him know on Twitter.)
Seattle 40-3 over N.Y. Jets
Green Bay 31-24 over Detroit
L.A. Chargers 20-17 over Atlanta
Washington 23-15 over San Francisco
Washington-49ers grades by Jordan Dajani (Love the grades? Hate the grades? Let him know on Twitter.)
Philadelphia 24-21 over New Orleans
Saints-Eagles grades by Jeff Kerr (Love the grades? Hate the grades? Let him know on Twitter.)
Indianapolis 44-27 over Las Vegas
Colts-Raiders grades by Josh Edwards (Love the grades? Hate the grades? Let him know on Twitter.)
Buffalo 26-15 over Pittsburgh
Steelers-Bills grades by Cody Benjamin (Love the grades? Hate the grades? Let him know on Twitter.)
