ARLINGTON - Cowboys kicker Brett Maher had a tall task ahead of him when he replaced Dan Bailey in September.

Maher, playing in the NFL for his first year, scored 16 points in Dallas' 40-7 win Sunday as he once again validated the decision to cut Bailey's $3.4 million hit in favor of Maher's $480,000.

Maher connected on field goals of 50, 46, 32 and 55 yards, in order. He also went 4-of-4 for an extra point after each Cowboys touchdown in the 40-7 win.

The 55-yarder was Maher's longest in regular season, but he kicked a 57-yard field goal in Dallas' last preseason game that helped cement the decision to keep him. Maher once made a 58-yard field goal in a Canadian Football League game, though the hashmarks are wider in CFL rules.

Maher has made 15 of 16 field goals this season, including the last 15 straight.

"Hats off to our kicker, Brett, for doing his job," defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence said after the game. "He's pretty nice."

When asked if keeping Maher was his wisest decision as general manager, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones joked it ranked No. 530 (he didn't mention the 529 ahead).

"We're really pleased with how he's kicking," Jones said more seriously. "He's kicking in form with how he kicked in preseason. It's not surprising."

Bailey, who preceded Maher, is the second most accurate kicker in NFL history among kickers with at least 100 attempts. Two misses this season have dropped Bailey from 88.2 to 87.67 percent. Maher improved his percentage Sunday to 93.8 percent, albeit on a much smaller sample size.

Click here to read SportsDay's profile from the weekend on who Maher is and how a CFL trick-play, Nebraka pole-vault champion became the Cowboys' replacement for Bailey.

Twitter: @JoriEpstein