NEW ORLEANS — One week removed from the worst performance of his NFL career, quarterback Andy Dalton threw three touchdown passes and rookie running back Jeremy Hill ran for 152 yards on 27 carries to power the Cincinnati Bengals to a 27-10 victory over the New Orleans Saints Sunday at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.

In a 24-3 home loss to Cleveland last week, Dalton had an abysmal quarterback rating of 2.0 after completing just 10 of 33 passes and throwing three interceptions. On Sunday he sliced up the Saints’ beleaguered secondary, completing 16 of 22 for 220 yards and compiling a QB rating of 143.9.

The Bengals (6-3-1) converted nine of their first 11 third-down situations, including five that were third-and-8 or longer.

The kill shot came when Dalton found A.J. Green down the right sideline for a 38-yard completion on third-and-19. The reception set up Dalton’s 24-yard touchdown pass to Green, who was able to get both feet down before going out of the endzone and put the Bengals up 27-10 with 11:29 left.

On the 80-yard drive, Green caught three passes for 80 yards. Green finished with six catches for 127 yards.

Dalton also had touchdown passes of 12 and 1 yards to tight end Jermaine Gresham.

The Cincinnati defense allowed the Saints (4-6) to move the ball between the 20s in the first half but stiffened twice in the red zone.

After holding the Saints to a 31-yard field goal by Shayne Graham on the game’s first series, the Bengals marched 77 yards in 12 plays on their first possession, picking up three third-and-8s. They got the payoff on a wild 12-yard pass from Dalton to Gresham.

On the scoring play, Gresham stretched the ball out at the 1-yard line, where cornerback Corey White stripped him of the ball. The loose ball skipped into the end zone and could have been fallen on by cornerback Brian Dixon, but it squirted out of his hands, and Gresham recovered for a 7-3 lead.

The Saints then used 17 plays to march 78 yards to the Cincinnati 3 only to come away empty. On fourth-and-goal from the 1, Brees threw a pass in the right flat for fullback Erik Lorig, who was quickly smothered by linebacker Ray Maualuga for a 1-yard loss.

The Bengals drove 94 yards in 15 plays to extend their lead to 10-3 on a 22-yard field goal by Mike Nugent, and they looked satisfied to go into halftime after getting the ball back at their 16 with less than a minute left.

But Hill burst through a gaping hole for a 62-yard gain to the Saints’ 24-yard line, and the bengals called timeout with one second left. Nugent came on to pad the lead to 13-3 with a 42-yard field goal.

When Dalton hit Gresham for his second scoring pass – a 1-yard flip midway through the third quarter — Cincinnati led 20-3.

The Saints finally got their first touchdown four seconds into the fourth quarter on a 9-yard pass from Drew Brees to wide receiver Kenny Stills, cutting the deficit to 20-10.

NOTES: Saints RT Zach Strief left the game late in the first quarter with concussion symptoms. … On the next play, Bengals DE Margus Hunt was helped off the field with a right ankle injury. … The Saints had not lost consecutive home games since 2012, when Sean Payton was serving a one-year suspension for the Saints’ bounty program. … The 10 points put up by the Saints tied for the fewest scored at home under Payton. The Saints had gone 28 consecutive games scoring at least 20 points at home.