Cincinnati Bengals cornerback Leon Hall returns an interception for a touchdown against the St. Louis Rams on Nov. 29.Mark Zerof
As the touchdown passes and interceptions piled up, it felt like a throwback game for the Bengals.
Andy Dalton threw three touchdown passes – two of them to A.J. Green – and Cincinnati emerged from its brief skid with an effort reminiscent of its perfect first half of the season, beating the St. Louis Rams 31-7 on Sunday.
After dropping a pair of close prime-time games, the Bengals (9-2) were back in sync against a team that struggles to score and keep up. The 31 points equalled the second-most against St. Louis this season.
In addition to Dalton's three touchdowns, the Bengals had three interceptions, including one that Leon Hall returned for a touchdown.
"I felt like we played well in all phases of the game," Dalton said. "It's good to get a win, and it's good to get a win the way we did."
The Rams (4-7) have dropped four in a row, in large part because their offence ranks last in the league in passing. They switched quarterbacks last week, but Case Keenum got a head injury during a 16-13 loss in Baltimore and was limited in practice.
Nick Foles, who started the first nine games, returned. The most costly of his three interceptions came when he avoided the rush and floated a pass that Hall picked off and returned 19 yards for a touchdown.
"They're not always going to be like this, but it's nice to kind of control the game, especially the way we did," Dalton said.
The Bengals have limited opponents to 10 points or less in four of the past five games. They were coming off a 34-31 loss at Arizona that was their low point defensively this season.
"We need to stick to our identity," defensive end Carlos Dunlap said. "Success is precious. You just have to stick to what you do."
Dalton was 20-of-27 for 233 yards. He threw touchdown passes of nine and 18 yards to Green, who hadn't caught two in a game since the third week of the season in Baltimore. Tyler Eifert also had a 22-yarder, giving him the league lead with 12 TD catches.