Fresh off a backbreaking defeat to the Ravens, in which consisted of a stellar offensive performance and abysmal defensive one, the Bengals were looking to bounce back on Sunday Night Football against the New York Giants. In the Big Apple on Primetime, there was nowhere to hide. The defense held a players only meeting during the week, and the expectation was an improved effort, especially with Sheldon Rankins back from injury.
The offence was quick to put points on the board. An 11 yard completion to Tee Higgins put them into Giants territory, a handful of plays into the drive. Later, after taking a sack, the Bengals faced 3rd & 18. Joe Burrow took the snap and then darted to his right, seeing nothing but green grass in front of him. He was bursting towards the end zone, with defenders closing in. Opting to dive for the end zone proved to be a fruitful decision, as he was able to get the ball across the plane. It was a 47 yard run, and put the Bengals up 7-0.
On New York’s second drive, they were able to put something good together. Daniel Jones completed a 7 yard pass to Robinson before finding Slayton for 9 on 3rd & 2. He then completed two more passes of around 15 yards to Tracy and Robinson, respectively. This had the Giants progressing deeper into Bengals territory. However, on 1st down, from the Bengals 14 yard line, BJ Hill got to the QB and forced a poor throw that popped up into the air. It was picked off by Germaine Pratt, ending the threat.
Neither team could get much going offensively after that, with mistakes and good defensive play leading to stalled drives. The Bengals entered the half leading 7-0.
After failing to convert on 4th down to start the half, the Giants went on a long 79 yard drive on their second one. A conversion on 4th & 2 from their own side of the field seemed to spark things. Tracy was the one who converted it, before he then made a 10 yard reception to further advance their offence. Tracy converted another 4th & short, adding 5 yards on the ground to easily move the chains. Later, DJ Turner was called for pass interference, a foul which occurred in the end zone. This set up the Giants at the 1 yard line, from where Tracy was able to punch it in. The Giants backup RB, filling in for an injured Singletary, had a big drive.
The Bengals answered with a solid drive of their own. The downfield passing game finally started to wake up, as Burrow found Ja’Marr Chase for 33, and then 11 yards. Burrow was able to make a couple more moderate completions, finding All and Higgins. They made it down to the 1 yard line, and it seemed as though the Bengals had punched it in. However, a Chase Brown TD was nullified by a holding call on Cordell Volson. From the 11, Burrow was sacked, pushing them back another 8 yards. Evan McPherson’s 37 yard field goal attempt was good, giving the Bengals a 10-7 lead.
Cincinnati punted on their next drive, while the Giants missed a field goal and turned it over on downs on their next two drives, respectively. Finally, late in the 4th quarter, the Bengals got on the board again. Burrow scrambled to his left, finding Iosivas for 29 yards on 3rd & 12. On the next play, the Bengals suffered a scare, as Chase Brown put the ball on the ground. Several Giants players made an attempt at the ball, but it made its way out of bounds, remaining in Cincy’s possession. New York’s inability to recover the fumble was costly, as Brown got loose on the next play, running it into the end zone from 30 yards out.
Down 10 points, the Giants got down the field, and attempted a field goal on 2nd down with 55 seconds remaining. They were looking to cut the lead down to one score, while still having enough time to tie it up if they were to recover an onside kick. However, Greg Joseph’s attempt was wide left for his second miss of the day, sealing the win for the Bengals.
The Bengals improve to 2-4 on the season, and will travel to Cleveland next week to take on the Browns in an AFC North divisional matchup.
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