Teams rarely require a spark in games they never trail and end up winning by 24, but Cincinnati Bengals needed one Sunday. And linebacker Manny Lawson provided it.

Following a dominating first half, the Bengals were outplayed and outscored in the third quarter. The Oakland defense held Cincinnati to four consecutive three-and-outs to start the second half, and the Raiders cut a 24-point deficit to 24-10 and were looking for more.

But on the first play of the fourth quarter, Lawson came on a blitz around the right edge and stripped the ball from Oakland quarterback Carson Palmer. Rey Maualuga recovered the fumble at the Oakland 46-yard line, the Bengals converted the turnover into a field goal and the Raiders never threatened again as the Bengals went on to win 34-10.

“After halftime they made their corrections and really came after us,” Lawson said. “We had to go back to what we were doing and not try to reinvent stuff. That one play turned it around.”

It was one of two turnovers the Bengals registered against Palmer, with the other being a Chris Crocker interception near the end of the first half.

Oakland outgained Cincinnati 84 to minus-4 in the third quarter, but after the Lawson sack and strip the Raiders managed just 51 yards in the fourth quarter while taking just two snaps in Bengals territory.

“Manny came up big with that sack and forced fumble,” defensive tackle Geno Atkins said. “It was a big momentum swing for us.”

Drive 55

The 55-yard field goal Mike Nugent kicked on the final play of the first half was the longest of his career and tied the Bengals franchise record.

“I just wanted to put a good, solid hit on it,” Nugent said. “I think that’s a distance where I don’t really need to put more on it. I just wanted to hit a good, solid ball, and it will do the work for you.”

The kick, which gave the Bengals a 24-0 lead heading into halftime, was the longest in franchise history since Chris Bahr hit a 55-yarder Sept. 23, 1976, in a 30-27 overtime loss to the Houston Oilers at Riverfront Stadium.

It also broke the Paul Brown Stadium record of 54 yards, which was set by Miami’s Dan Carpenter on Oct. 31, 2010, and later tied by Cleveland’s Phil Dawson on Nov. 27, 2011.

Oakland’s Sebastian Janikowski matched the stadium record with a 55-yard field goal of his own in the third quarter.

Atkins accolade

Bengals defensive tackle Geno Atkins set the team’s single-season record for sacks by an interior linemen when he took down Oakland quarterback Carson Palmer on the third play of the game Sunday.

It was Atkins’ ninth sack of the season, breaking the mark of eight set by Dan “Big Daddy” Wilkinson in 1995.

“It’s a huge accomplishment,” Atkins said. “But it wouldn’t happen without Michael (Johnson), Robert (Geathers), (Carlos) Dunlap and (Domata) Peko, the whole defensive line. Michael and Carlos caused the quarterback to step up, and I was able to get there.”

Raiders running back Marcel Reece ran for 8 and 5 yards on the first two plays of the game before Atkins dumped Palmer. The 8-yard loss was the first of four sacks and eight hits against Palmer.

Sanu scores

While A.J. Green saw his single-season franchise record of nine consecutive games with a touchdown come to an end, rookie wide receiver Mohamed Sanu extended his own streak to three with a pair of touchdown receptions.

Sanu, who was making his second career start, caught a 2-yard TD pass from Andy Dalton in the first quarter, and he hauled in a 5-yard scoring strike in the second quarter.

“The more rep you get, the better feel you get for the game,” he said. “It really helps your confidence a lot, too.”

Sanu finished with just 29 receiving yards, but his five receptions led the team and set a new career high.