EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The Bengals beat the Giants 17-7 on Sunday night to improve to 2-4 on the season.
Here are three takeaways from the victory:
Winning Ugly is Still Winning
It was an ugly win. Who cares? Sometimes you have to win ugly in the NFL. If this team made enough plays down the stretch in Week 1, they would've "won ugly" in their matchup with the Patriots. They didn't.
Winning matters.
Joe Burrow didn't have his best game. The offensive line had their hands full all night long. After Burrow's 47-yard touchdown run on the first drive of the game, the Bengals punted on five-straight possessions and then fumbled. Their longest drive over that span (six drives total) was seven plays.
If you would've told me that the Bengals wouldn't score for a 40+ minute (game minutes) stretch, I would've assumed they lost.
They didn't.
Burrow made key plays down the stretch, including a 29-yard throw to Andrei Iosivas on 3rd-and-12 that helped clinch the win. Sometimes you have to win ugly and that's what the Bengals did on Sunday night.
Defense Rises
The Bengals' defense did exactly what they needed to do against a Daniel Jones-led offense that was without Malik Nabers. They forced four punts, had one interception and two turnovers on downs.
BJ Hill and Trey Hendrickson led the way, but guys like Mike Hilton, DJ Turner II, Germaine Pratt and Cam Taylor-Britt made plays in big moments.
This defense needed a performance like that, especially with how they've struggled in recent weeks.
Closing Time
It felt like the Bengals were going to let another win slip through their fingers—literally. Ja'Marr Chase had a key drop on third down that would've not only extended the drive, but could've been an explosive play.
Chase Brown fumbled with two minutes left, but the ball was knocked out of bounds. The Giants had multiple defenders in the area, but couldn't hold onto it.
Brown scored from 30 yards out on the next play to seal the 17-7 win.
Sometimes you need the ball to bounce your way. The Bengals can't fumble with the game on the line. We know it. They know it. But, if a fumble is going to happen, it's nice when it bounces your way.
The past few weeks, things haven't gone Cincinnati's way. When you lose four games by 15 combined points, you take any bounce you can get.
That play could've been a major turning point. Instead, the Bengals got a break.
Last week they got a break in overtime when Lamar Jackson fumbled, but they didn't take advantage of it. They did just enough on Sunday night to pull out the win.
