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          Dallas Cowboys' Aldon Smith scoops up Cincinnati Bengals' fumble, takes it 78 yards to end zone

          • Todd Archer, ESPN Staff WriterDec 13, 2020, 06:38 PM
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              Todd Archer is an NFL reporter at ESPN and covers the Dallas Cowboys. Archer has covered the NFL since 1997 and Dallas since 2003. He joined ESPN in 2010. You can follow him on Twitter at @toddarcher.
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          It wasn't necessarily a butt fumble by Cincinnati Bengals running back Trayveon Williams, but the Dallas Cowboys will take it just the same.

          Williams fumbled after running into the back of left tackle Hakeem Adeniji on a second-and-4 run on the second possession of Sunday's game at Cincinnati, allowing Cowboys' Aldon Smith to scoop up the loose ball and run 78 yards for a touchdown and a 10-0 lead.

          It's the second defensive touchdown of the season for the Cowboys (cornerback Anthony Brown scored one in Week 5) and the first touchdown of Smith's pro career. The last time he had a fumble recovery came in 2011, when he was with the San Francisco 49ers. Also, it's the fifth-longest fumble return in team history and the longest since Greg Ellis returned one 98 yards for a score against Arizona on Oct. 3, 1999.

          DeMarcus Lawrence forced a fumble on Cincinnati's first drive, poking the ball free from Giovani Bernard that Jourdan Lewis recovered at the Bengals' 32. The Cowboys turned that into a Greg Zuerlein 34-yard field goal.

          The Cowboys have struggled taking the ball away this season, but this is the third time in six games they have had two fumble recoveries.