Seeing his first action since Nov. 27, 2011, Cincinnati Bengals defensive tackle Pat Sims came up with one of the biggest plays of the game Sunday against the New York Giants.

After scoring touchdowns on their first two drives of the game, the Bengals were hanging on to a 17-6 lead midway through the third quarter when defensive tackle Geno Atkins tipped an Eli Manning pass that fell to Sims, who returned it 3 yards to the New York 12-yard line.

“I thought I was going to get more yards, but (Giants guard Kevin Boothe) was hanging on so tight to my ankles, it felt like my son down there,” the 330-pound Sims joked.

Three plays later Andy Dalton hit Jermaine Gresham with a 10-yard TD pass to give Cincinnati a much more comfortable 24-6 lead in its 31-13 win.

Sims missed the final five games of 2011 with a pair of ankle injuries and then spent the first nine weeks of this season on the Physically Unable to Perform list with a hamstring injury. The Bengals activated him Friday, and he made his debut in the first quarter.

“It felt great,” Sims said. “I had a lot of energy today. Being back, I had a lot of adrenaline going. I wish I could’ve been out there sooner, but things happen. Thank God I was able to get out there today.”

With Sims in the rotation, the defensive line put together its best game of the year with four sacks, four more quarterback hits, a forced fumble, two fumble recoveries and Sims’ interception.

“(Sims) was very disruptive, and that’s what we’ve got to do as a front,” defensive end Michael Johnson said. “It’s his first game back. I was just happy for him to be out there making plays and doing good things for the team.”

Streaky set

Bengals wide receiver A.J. Green caught a touchdown pass for the eighth consecutive game, a 56-yarder from Dalton in the first quarter.

That ties him with T.J. Houshmandzadeh for the single-season record of most consecutive games with a score, and leaves him two behind Carl Pickens for the all-time franchise record of 10. Pickens had at least one TD in the final five games of 1994, and the first five of 1995.

Green finished with seven catches for 85 yards.

Dalton, on the other hand, ended a streak that had seen him throw at least one interception in the first eight games, a franchise record. Dalton finished 21-of-30 for 199 yards and a career-high four touchdowns. His passer rating of 127.6 was the third highest of his career (132.9 at Washington on Sept. 30, and 128.2 at Cleveland on Oct. 14).

Sanu stars

Rookie wide receiver Mohamed Sanu had career highs in catches (four) and yards (47) and also caught his first NFL touchdown pass on a 10-yard reception from Dalton that made it 31-6 in the third quarter.

“It felt great,” Sanu said. “Andy saw something in the defense and he audibled. I just ran the route and found an opening. He put the ball on the money, and I just tried to make a play.”

Zoned in

The Bengals entered the day ranked 19^th in the NFL in red zone touchdown percentage at 48.1 percent, but they found the end zone on three of their four possessions inside the 20 Sunday.

The offense also converted a season-best 46 percent of its third downs (6-of-13). The Bengals were 30-of-102 (29.4 percent) in their first eight games.

Winning mark

The victory against the Giants marked the first time in more than a year the Bengals beat a team with a winning record. The last time they did it was Nov. 6, 2011, a 24-17 against the Tennessee Titans, who were 4-3 at the time.