A.J. Green catches one of easier TDs of career in Bengals' 31-7 win

The St. Louis defense looked sound enough, at least as Andy Dalton began his cadence from the Rams' 10-yard line with 9 minutes, 23 seconds left in the first quarter.

Cornerback Janoris Jenkins was giving a press look to A.J. Green, but then something happened – a total defensive meltdown. Green angled toward the sideline to shed a half-hearted, one-handed jam attempt by Jenkins, who was turning his attention inside by the 8-yard line.

At the 7, it was clear Dalton was going to go to his No. 3 option on the route – Mohamed Sanu in the slot – at least to the entire Rams' secondary on that side of the field.

As Sanu broke out at the 5 and Dalton began his throwing motion, Jenkins left Green to break toward Sanu, who was covered. The safety over the top – in the end zone – also broke down on Sanu.

The ball was in the air in a split second, but all three Rams continued to converge down to Sanu, and it sailed over their heads into the waiting arms of Green for his first touchdown since Nov. 1, his game-winner in Pittsburgh.

"That was probably one of my easiest touchdowns, ever," Green said.

He was so open that it even took the Bengals' quarterback by surprise.

"At first I got a little nervous because I was like 'I hope I didn't overthrow this one,'" Dalton said with smile. "It was a great play design – I mean, he was obviously wide open."

Green found the end zone again, this time on a much more tightly contested play in the middle of the field. With Tyler Eifert on the sidelines following a stinger suffered during a fumble recovery, Green filled that role in the red zone and made a leaping, 18-yard grab.

"Andy just threaded the needle through there," Green said. "He gave me a ball to go make a play on and I just made the play."

It was the second time Green has recorded a multi-touchdown game this season (Baltimore was the other) but just the fifth time he's done so in his five-year career. Green now has six touchdowns on the year, matching his total from a year ago.

"I was joking with him. I said you got two but Tyler still got one," Dalton said of the Bengals' tight end, who caught a 22-yard touchdown between Green's scores. "Tyler's been a big threat down there too so we've been able to get matchups and when you get down there teams definitely try to take (Green) away so for him to have the easy one and then he went up and made the big play on the next one. I'm always happy for him to score multiple touchdowns."

Hall and Nelson reach milestones

Ninth-year cornerback Leon Hall played a solid overall game on Sunday but he moved up one more spot in the Bengals' record book with his third quarter interception of Nick Foles. It is the 26th of his Bengals' career, moving him into fourth place all time in that category. It was also his third career interception return for a score and first since 2012.

Safety Reggie Nelson, also in his ninth season (six with the Bengals) had a second-quarter interception - his sixth of the season, setting a career high. He picked off five passes his rookie year in Jacksonville in 2007.

The interception also gives Nelson the league lead.

"It really don't mean nothing, man," Nelson said. "I've got bigger prizes and the team has bigger goals than me worrying about setting a record or what not."

Nelson gave fellow safety George Iloka credit for the turnover, as Iloka tipped the ball up in the air.

"I didn't see anything," Nelson said. "George made a good play and I was just in the right place at the right time. I owe that to George. He made a good defensive play on the ball and I was just right there."