Sometimes revenge is a dish best served cold and other times it’s a dish best served with a side of Cincinnati chili. In his first game back to Cincinnati since being released by the Bengals, Andy Dalton helped the Cowboys to a 30-7 victory against the overmatched Bengals.
Although this was billed as Dalton’s revenge game, Dalton actually didn’t have to do any of the dirty work and that was because the Cowboys’ defense got revenge on the Bengals for him.
The Cowboys forced sales on each of Cincinnati’s first three assets, and that was a major reason Dallas could roll to victory. The biggest game of the game came on Cincinnati’s second possession when the Bengals running back Trayveon Williams lost the soccer on a butt-fumble! Not only was there a fumble, but Aldon Smith eventually picked up the ball and ran 78 yards for a touchdown to give Dallas an early 10-0 lead.
The fact that the Cowboys recovered three fumbles in this game was a minor miracle when you consider that in their first 12 games of the year, they only recovered six fumbles in total. By Week 14, the Cowboys were on track to have one of the worst defenses in NFL history, but apparently they just needed to play the Bengals to fix things.
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Since the Cowboys played so well, they didn’t need much help from Dalton, but he decided to provide anyway. The former Bengals quarterback got the last laugh from his old team when he hit Amari Cooper with a perfect shot for an 11 yard score in the second quarter.
In total, Dalton threw for 185 yards and two touchdowns.
The Cowboys are still not 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 are two games behind Washington in the NFC East, the Cowboys have a slight advantage on their side during the last 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 while it feels like the Cowboys are out of the running, let’s not close the door completely yet.
Okay, let’s take a look at the numbers for each game from week 14. If you’re looking for a deeper dive into the Patriots-Rams game played on Thursday, 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 NY Giants
Cardinals-Giants Numbers by Patrik Walker (Love the numbers? Hate the numbers? Let him know on Twitter.)
Tampa Bay 26-14 over Minnesota
Vikings-Buccaneers Numbers by Tyler Sullivan (Love the numbers? Hate the numbers? Let him know on Twitter.)
Kansas City 33-27 over Miami
Chiefs-Dolphins Numbers by Bryan DeArdo (Love the numbers? Hate the numbers? Let him know on Twitter.)
Seattle 40-3 over NY Jets
Green Bay 31-24 over Detroit
LA Chargers 20-17 over Atlanta
Washington 23-15 over San Francisco
Washington-49ers Numbers by Jordan Dajani (Love the numbers? Hate the numbers? Let him know on Twitter.)
Philadelphia 24-21 over New Orleans
Saints-Eagles Numbers by Jeff Kerr (Love the numbers? Hate the numbers? Let him know on Twitter.)
Indianapolis 44-27 over Las Vegas
Colts-Raiders Numbers by Josh Edwards (Love the numbers? Hate the numbers? Let him know on Twitter.)
Buffalo 26-15 over Pittsburgh
Steelers-Bills Numbers by Cody Benjamin (Love the numbers? Hate the numbers? Let him know on Twitter.)