A.J. Green comes up big in Bengals win over Texans

The Cincinnati Bengals needed a big performance from their offensive weapons, including A.J. Green, if they hoped to come out of Houston with a win. Green did what he was expected to do, being all awesome and finishing the game with a career-high 12 catches 121 yards receiving

What made Green's day so special was the number of times he not only gained enough yardage for a first down, but how many times his catch led to a third-down conversion and an eventual score.

The first conversion occurred during Cincinnati's first scoring drive, when Dalton fired a pass to Green to the Texans 21-yard line for 11 yards in which he went up and over A.J. Bouye to haul it in. During that same possession, Green caught a seven-yard pass on third and two to take the ball down to the Texans six-yard line. Dalton would hit Mohamed Sanu for the score.

After a three-game absence nursing a toe injury, Green's return was rather slow and methodical. Combining for six receptions and 67 yards receiving against the Jacksonville Jaguars and Cleveland Browns, Green has combined for 18 receptions in the last two games, generating 248 yards receiving.

A.J. Green: "The toe is back to 100 percent." #Bengals

— Coley Harvey (@ColeyHarvey) November 23, 2014

With the Bengals leading 9-3 in the third quarter, Green posted an 11-yard reception to convert a third and four, moving the football to within the Texans five-yard line. Jeremy Hill scored two plays later to give Cincinnati a 16-3 lead. Green posted another third down conversion on the ensuing possession, but the drive tragically ended with Johnathan Joseph's pick-six.

Green would only make one more catch in the game, though it was a big one. Green posted a 13-yard reception on second down, moving the Bengals to the Texan's 34-yard line. That drive would end with a Mike Nugent field goal to give Cincinnati a 19-13 lead.