ARLINGTON, Texas

Patrick Peterson hasn’t faced a starting quarterback in the preseason.

The three-time All-Pro cornerback for the Arizona Cardinals is getting himself in regular-season form anyway.

Peterson returned an interception 30 yards for a touchdown after Dallas decided to sit quarterback Dak Prescott and running back Ezekiel Elliott in what was supposed to be the dress rehearsal, and the Cardinals rolled to a 27-3 exhibition victory over the Cowboys on Sunday night.

The Cardinals (3-0) forced eight turnovers to give them 16 takeaways in the preseason. That included two muffed punts by Dallas (0-3), the second recovered for a touchdown by Trent Sherfield to open the scoring in the first quarter.

Prescott’s absence made it three straight weeks that Arizona didn’t face the opposing starter. San Diego’s Philip Rivers skipped the opener, and Drew Brees sat for New Orleans last week.

Sam Bradford led two largely ineffective series for the Cardinals after completing all seven of his passes in the first two preseason games. Playing without running back David Johnson and receiver Larry Fitzgerald, Bradford was 1 of 4 for 6 yards as Arizona generated just one first down.

Josh Rosen, the 10th overall pick and likely backup to Bradford in the regular season, didn’t play after injuring the thumb on his throwing (right) hand in practice last week. Mike Glennon directed a drive to Phil Dawson’s 42-yard field goal in three second-quarter possessions, finishing 8 of 10 for 35 yards.

The Cowboys were missing center Travis Frederick and right guard Zack Martin, part of the reason Prescott didn’t play. The other reason was a longer-than-planned touchdown drive of 16 plays on Prescott’s final possession of the second preseason game against Cincinnati.

Peterson stepped in front of Cooper Rush’s pass to Tavon Austin along the sideline and held the ball in the air most of the way on the easy stroll to the end zone.

Bengals 26, Bills 13

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton doesn’t believe he could have scripted a better visit to Buffalo on Sunday.

The donation he made to Buffalo’s Roswell Park Cancer Institute to open the day was special. The two standing ovations he received from Bills fans before the preseason game were chilling.

And Dalton was able to keep his emotions in check on the first snap from scrimmage to hit John Ross for a 57-yard touchdown pass in leading the Bengals to a 26-13 victory.

The Bills could not say the same about their offense, and a three-way quarterback competition that remains unsettled.

Rookie Josh Allen struggled in his first preseason start , while getting little protection from an offensive line that allowed five sacks in the first half alone. He finished 6 of 12 and was sacked for more yards (39) than he had passing (34).

Dalton eased whatever concerns the starters raised with their sputters in last week’s 21-13 win at Dallas by producing three scoring drives — two touchdowns and a field goal — over five series against the Bills.

Dalton finished 11 of 16 for 180 yards and two touchdowns — including a 14-yarder to A.J. Green — to celebrate the warm reception he received in Buffalo nine months after playing a key role in the Bills making the playoffs and ending a 17-year playoff drought.

It happened in the final minute of the season finale against Baltimore on New Year’s Eve. Dalton’s 49-yard touchdown pass on fourth down to Tyler Boyd sent the Bengals to a 31-27 win, and eliminated the Ravens from playoff contention.

Bills fans responded immediately by making over $450,000 to Dalton’s charitable foundation.