National Football League

Rookie-led Cowboys are 4-1 after 28-14 win over Bengals

Published Oct. 9, 2016 9:45 p.m. ET

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ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) Ezekiel Elliott ran for 134 yards and two touchdowns, fellow rookie Dak Prescott threw for a score and ran for another TD, and the Dallas Cowboys beat the Cincinnati Bengals 28-14 on Sunday.

Prescott had his first turnover in five games starting in place of injured Tony Romo, a fumble when being sacked late in the third quarter. But Prescott extended his NFL rookie record to 155 passes without an interception to start his career. He completed 18 of 24 passes for 227 yards.

Elliott, on only 15 carries, became the first Cowboys rookie with three consecutive 100-yard rushing games.

Dallas (4-1) has won four in a row. The Bengals (2-3) already have a losing record a year after being 8-0 midway through the season.

Elliott put the Cowboys ahead to stay with a 13-yard TD run on their opening drive. Then on their first offensive snap of the second half, Elliott busted through the middle and into the open on the way to a 60-yard score, punctuating the play with what might be called a JerryWorld jump, leaping up a few feet to celebrate with fans sitting in field-level suites in the end zone.

Prescott ran 5 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter. Then he was scrambling to his right before halftime when he threw on the run to Cole Beasley for a 14-yard score.

It was a homecoming of sorts for Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton, who went to TCU and the campus about 20 miles away from AT&T Stadium. The 2011 second-round draft pick was visiting the Cowboys for the first time for a regular-season game since leading the Horned Frogs to an undefeated 2010 season and Rose Bowl victory.

But the Bengals trailed 28-0 before Dalton threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to Brandon LaFell with about 10 minutes left. That duo hooked up again for a 5-yard score with 2:39 left. Dalton finished 29 of 41 for 269 yards.

TYRON'S RETURN

Dallas Pro Bowl left tackle Tyron Smith returned after missing two games with back issues. Smith had missed just one game in the first five seasons of his career before his back tightened up late in the week before the third game against Chicago. Chaz Green, a second-year player who made the first two starts of his career in Smith's place, was sidelined by a sprained foot.

CHASING DALTON

Dallas defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence made his season debut following a four-game suspension for violating the NFL's substance-abuse policy. While he didn't get a sack, he boosted a pass rush that sacked Dalton four times. Terrell McClain had 1 1/2 sacks, after the interior defender had just one in his first two seasons with the Cowboys. Lawrence, who led Dallas with eight sacks last season, had a fistful of Dalton's jersey on one play but couldn't pull him down. The Cowboys had six sacks in four games coming in.

HOME GETTING SWEET AGAIN

The Cowboys have won their last two home games, a much-more desired streak. Before that, they had an eight-game losing streak in their showplace stadium that included a 20-19 loss to the New York Giants in this season's opener.

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