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Giants (2-3) Cincinnati (1-4)
The Cincinnati Bengals were coming off two
games where they had scored more than 30 points in each of them. In their game
last week against the Baltimore Ravens they topped that number. Cincinnati still
ended up losing to the Ravens 41-38.
The Giants are coming off a surprising
win over the Seattle Seahawks. They were able to overcome a sack fumble returned
for a touch down on their first offensive play of the game. The Giants then held
the Seahawks to their lowest points scored on the year and left Seattle with a
29-20 win. Cincinnati Bengals
The
Bengals have been to the Super Bowl three times, but have never won one. The last
one they lost was in the 2021 season to the Rams. They came close the following
year, but were beat out in the AFC title game by the Kansas City Chiefs, who went
on to win Super Bowl LVII. They're in a tough division, and last year a 9-8 record
had them in fourth place in the AFC North, and out of the playoffs. The other
three teams, Cleveland Browns, Pittsburgh Steelers, and Baltimore Ravens were
in. Cincinnati Bengals
Offense
If quarterback Joe Burrow stays
healthy, they can put points up on the board. Last year Burrow started off the
season moving through a calf injury. Burrow missed the last seven games after
sustaining a wrist injury in a division match up with the Ravens. Last week Burrow
threw a career high 5 touchdowns, giving him a total of 12 on the season with
only 2 interceptions. His top targets were the two receivers who led the team
on touchdowns last year. Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins saw 26 of Burrows total
39 passes come their way, and they caught 19, for a combined 276 yards and 4 touchdowns.
Burrow missed on only 9 of his passes, and the other touchdown was caught
by running back Chase Brown, who is questionable for this game. Last year Joe
Mixon was the lead running back, and even though he ran for over 1000 yards, averaging
4 yards a carry and had 9 touchdowns, the Bengals were next to last with their
rushing attack. Mixon was traded in the offseason to the Houston Texans. Zack
Moss was brought in and gets most of the carries along with Brown. The rushing
attack has moved up a bit, but is still under 100 yards a game. Cincinnati
Bengals Defense
The
Bengals were tied for third last year with 18 interceptions, but overall 27th
in total defense. They were ranked 29th in rushing defense then and now 30th,
giving up 151 rushing yards per game. Cincinnati also dropped in points allowed,
and are next to last in the league giving up 29 points a game. Their sack rate
was very low, and now lower, averaging about one per game. Defensive end Trey
Hendrickson is doing it all, and he is responsible for 3 of the teams total 6
sacks. The Bengals rank last in the league with just 11 tackles for a loss. Ravens
quarterback Lamar Jackson put it to them last week, passing for 348 yards and
4 touchdowns, and they were run over for 175 yards.
The secondary is dealing
with injuries. Cornerback Dax Hill, who tore his ACL last week in their game with
the Ravens, and cornerback Mike Hilton, who is dealing with a knee injury that
kept him out of that game, and is questionable for this one. They will be playing
a Giants team that's just seen it's offense come into play. Daniel Jones has had
protection, and has connected with some deep passes. Their running game has also
come alive. The Giants will have a chance to keep things going against a defense
that is really struggling. .Giants
Offense
The offense has come together over
the past few weeks, and despite missing key players they were able to pull off
a win last week in Seattle. Much of that has to do with offensive line stability
where they have had the same five starters play in every game. Right tackle Jermaine
Eluemunor has been great with his pass protection in that position. Daniel Jones
needed as much time as he could get considering he was dealing without his favorite
target Malik Nabers.
The rookie missed last game, is still in NFL concussion
protocol, and will be out for this one as well. They
were also missing lead running back Devin Singletary and still the offense scored
23 points, and could have had 7 more if Eric Gray didn't fumble the ball over
to the Seahawks early on. With four games played, Nabers still leads the team
with 35 catches, 386 yards, and 3 touchdowns.
Jones leaned on Darius Slayton,
who saw 11 passes come his way, and he caught 8 of them for 122 yards and one
touchdown. Wan'Dale Robinson caught a touchdown pass, and rookie tight end Theo
Johnson was in the mix, catching all 5 passes for 48 yards. Rookie Tyrone Tracy
stood out in the running back role with 18 carries for 129 yards, an impressive
7.2 yards a carry. The running game totaled 175 yards, the best so far this season.
UPDATE: Singletary is out for this game, as well as punter Jamie Gillan. Giants
Defense
The Bengals are one of the top five
scoring teams in the NFL, averaging 28 points a game. Last week the Giants defense
kept Geno Smith off balance hitting him with 7 sacks, and they gave up only 13
of the 20 points scored against the Giants. Tackle Dexter Lawrence had 3 of those
sacks, and he now has 6 on the year. They need to bring up front pressure, knowing
for sure that Joe Burrow will be throwing to Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins as
much as possible. Linebacker Kayvon Thibodeaux broke a bone in his wrist, and
was placed on injured reserve. That won't help, but Azeez Ojulari can be effective
in that spot.
The Giants secondary kept Seahawks wide receiver DK Metcalf in
check, especially cornerback Deonte Banks, who punched the ball out of Metcalf's
hands for the Giants to recover. Banks will have his hands full dealing with Chase
and Higgins. Also to deal with is tight end Mike Gesicki, who has caught almost
every pass (17 of 21), averaging 10 yards a catch. Gesicki did miss some practice
this week with a hamstring issue, and running back Zack Moss, when he's not running
with the ball stays busy catching it, and has one touchdown. Overall
The
Giants will try to keep things going against the Cincinnati Bengals, a team with
a powerful offense, and a defense that has yet to find it's footing. The Giants
offense came together last game, and for the first time this season, they may
have to be the driving force instead of their defense to secure a win. NFC
East Games
Sunday at 1:00pm Browns (1-4)
at Eagles (2-2)
Sunday at 1:00pm Commanders (4-1) at Ravens (3-2)
Sunday
at 4:25pm Lions (3-1) at Cowboys (3-2)
Sunday at 8:20pm Bengals (1-4) at Giants
(2-3)
The Commanders are the only NFC East team favored to win in these games.
Check out.
Giants
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Next Games
Oct
20 Eagles at Giants
Oct 28 Giants at Pittsburgh
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