Tale of Two Teams: Bengals Defense Finally Shows Up (Week 6 SNF) – By Safdar Mir

October 17th, 2024 | Sports

It was the best of offenses, it was the worst of defenses. It was the age of scoring, it was the age of getting scored on.

I had the pleasure of watching the Cincinnati Bengals (2-4) defeat the New York Giants (2-4) at Metlife Stadium this Sunday. Heading into the game, the story continued to be whether the high-powered offense led by Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase would be able to overcome the flaws that the defense had been showing all year. The Bengals’ offensive line had been extremely proficient up to this point in the year which was a stark contrast to previous iterations of this offensive line. However, the Giants Defensive-Line, led by Defensive Player of the Year candidate Dexter Lawrence created havoc, generating 4 sacks on Burrow and two forced fumbles. Burrow was held to 263 total yards and one total touchdown with a 68% completion percentage. The Bengals defense brought forth their best performance of the year, holding the Giants to only 7 points. Due to this defensive performance, the Bengals were able to save their playoff hopes and win 17-7 in this road prime-time game.

The Bengals chose to receive the ball in the first half and were moving the ball with ease until the Giants free agent signing, Brian Burns, sacked Burrow at midfield setting up a 3rd and 18. On the next play Burrow who is not known for his athleticism out of the pocket scrambled 47 yards for a touchdown and reached the fastest speed of his career at over 19 miles per hour. As per next gen stats, there was only a 0.3% chance at a touchdown this play, showing the creation abilities Burrow possesses.

The Giants offense started their first drive with a first down pass from Daniel Jones to Darius Slayton but quickly sputtered out and were forced to punt. The rest of the first half was fairly uneventful from an offensive perspective as no more points were scored by either team. However, Daniel Jones ended up throwing an interception after B.J. Hill managed to pressure him in the pocket. This first look at the healthy Bengals interior defensive line showed that the Bengals may be able to contain the run as Tyrone Tracy, Giants rookie RB, ended with less than three yards per carry.

The second half depicted more of the same. The Giants managed to score with a Tyrone Tracy 1-yard rush which was caused by a Pass Interference in the end zone. These were the first and only points the Giants would score as Greg Joseph the backup kicker missed two field goals. Evan McPherson put the Bengals up 10-7, and the game was closed out by a 30 yards rushing touchdown from Chase Brown in the dying minutes of the game.

Giants coach Brian Daboll was more aggressive in his play-calling attempting to convert multiple fourth downs throughout the game. While the Giants found success on these plays when they ran the ball, they were stopped on fourth down both times Daniel Jones was made to throw it.

Overall, this game provides a sliver of hope for Bengals fans as their defense showed resilience and was able to hold a team to under 10 points for the first time in 75 games. Daniel Jones was unable to score a home passing touchdown increasing his streak to over 650 days, further cementing the fact that he cannot be the Giants quarterback of the future if they hope to win a SB.

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