Joe Burrow, Bengals get second win of season in ‘ugly’ game vs. Giants: Key takeaways

By Paul Dehner Jr., Charlotte Carroll and Lauren Merola

It wasn’t pretty, but the Cincinnati Bengals were able to piece together a 17-7 win against the New York Giants on Sunday at MetLife Stadium.

“Ugly, really ugly, but we got it done,” Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow said of the victory postgame. He added that he is “all good” after making a pit stop in the medical tent after sustaining a hard hit from Giants linebacker Brian Burns.

After the Bengals took a 7-0 first-half lead, the Giants countered in the third frame with their first offensive touchdown at home this season. Against the Minnesota Vikings and Dallas Cowboys at their home MetLife Stadium, the Giants only hit field goals and surrendered both matchups.

The only score of the first half came in the opening drive, when Burrow scrambled for a 47-yard rushing touchdown. The Cincinnati defense forced four punts and one interception in the first half to hold New York scoreless.

“Really proud of how our defense is playing, they’ve put us in tremendous position,” Zac Taylor said on the broadcast at halftime.

JOE BURROW OH MY pic.twitter.com/SMldP70GEB

— NFL (@NFL) October 14, 2024

With the win, the Bengals improve to 2-4. The Giants drop to 2-4.

Bengals just needed a win

In any way, shape or form.

It didn’t come in a way they likely expected, but they finally finished. After two losses when entering the fourth quarter with a lead and seeing a fourth-and-16 in Kansas City and a botched hold against Baltimore turn the entire feel of the season, they were able to make enough winning plays late to finish off a critical — if sloppy — win in New York. It didn’t need to be pretty considering how this season has gone and how close they are to the brink. It wasn’t, but they survive and the Bengals can now reset and think about stringing wins together as they try to dig out of the hole they created. — Paul Dehner Jr., Bengals beat writer

Bengals’ defense holds its own in New York

Cincinnati’s defensive leaders admitted this week they haven’t held up their end of the bargain this season. They did so and then some against the Giants.

The defensive line that hasn’t had a game with their full complement of defensive linemen but did so for the first time Sunday and looked like a different group. BJ Hill had a hit that created a turnover and third-down PBU, Trey Hendrickson had a sack and the Bengals were solid against the Giants’ run game. Cornerbacks also broke up two passes on fourth downs.

This marked the most significant sign of progress for the beleaguered group, even if it came against a New York offense with its own pile of issues. — Dehner

Bengals’ offense comes back to earth after past productive weeks

The Bengals offense crashed back to life on Sunday night after three straight games scoring at least 33 and while the disruptive Giants defensive front played a large role in the Bengals’ self-inflicted sloppiness. Ja’Marr Chase dropped a third-down conversion. Zack Moss fumbled in Giants territory. There was a hold by Cordell Volson negating a touchdown run, a sack where Amarius Mims seemed to confuse the snap count and another play blown up where Mike Gesicki was tasked with blocking down on Brian Burns with no success.

They’ve been a well-oiled machine but the mistake-filled effort stemmed the momentum of the season and left the offense with rough film to evaluate for the first time since Week 1. — Dehner

Giants’ defense puts up valiant effort without Kayvon Thibodeaux

The Giants defense fought and gave its all until it couldn’t anymore. The Bengals entered the night averaging 28 points per game by the way — 35 points per game over their past three contests. The Giants executed a strong performance, allowing 10 points until under two minutes remained. It was an encouraging performance for a defense missing one of its star pass rushers, Kayvon Thibodeaux.

In Thibodeaux’s place, Azeez Ojulari stepped up big time finishing with two sacks. The defense should lead the league in sacks now with 26.0. A large chunk of that share comes from defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence, who continues to put up monster numbers. — Charlotte Carroll, Giants beat writer

Being forced to play without Malik Nabers and Devin Singletary might turn out to be an early blessing in disguise for the Giants’ offense. The Giants heavily relied on Nabers, targeting the rookie 38.2 percent of the Giants’ passes — which was the highest in the league before his injury. Without him in the lineup, the target share has been a smidge more evenly divided between Wan’dale Robinson and Darius Slayton, and Tyrone Tracy has emerged as another legit offensive playmaker.

The rookie Tracy had a breakout game in Seattle and carried on the performance with his first career touchdown on Sunday. He finished with 17 carries for 50 yards and 1 touchdown. He’s also an added asset in the passing game as a former receiver-turned-running back only recently. Tracy added 57 receiving yards. — Carroll