The New York Giants are on a roll with their 4th consecutive win. They did exactly what they needed to do this week in order to keep pace with the rest of the NFC East. This game was a must win for the Giants because of how well the Dallas Cowboys have been playing.
This win was particularly good for the Giants playoff hopes because a loss could have swung their season in the wrong direction. The Giants defense has played great and that is why they have given their offense great opportunities to win games. Late game plays helped the Giants seal this victory.
As I have been saying the Giants have been having trouble with time of possession in games, but they had the ball 3 minutes longer than Cincinnati. The Bengals did play a good game against the Giants, making big plays that had the Giants on the ropes. Andy Dalton made a big play in the first quarter throwing the ball to Tyler Eifert for a 71 yard gain.
That play led to a touchdown that tied the game at 7-7. The rushing attack was also working for the Bengals as they were picking up first downs. They would finish with 78 total rushing yards.
Dalton would finish the game throwing for 204 yards and a touchdown. Dalton could not get touchdowns on certain drives when his team got in the red zone. That is because the Giants defense did a great job containing A.J. Green after he scored in the first quarter.
The Bengals started to get their offense going taking the lead in the third quarter and keeping the Giants off the scoreboard, but the Giants still had an entire quarter to work with, and the Bengals could not keep them out of the end zone in the fourth quarter. The Giants had a great game on both sides of the ball.
Eli Manning showed why he is one of the better quarterbacks in the league on Monday Night Football. Manning threw for 240 yards and 3 touchdowns which led his team to a 1-point victory.
The Giants offensive line has been playing great, and has given Manning enough time to make plays to receivers. Odell Beckham Jr. was targeted 11 times in the game he would finish the game with 10 receptions, 97 yards, and a touchdown.
Beckham Jr. has become the fastest player to gain 3,500 yards in his career. Manning got all of his scoring done through the air and the biggest play came on 4th down in the red zone.
Instead of kicking the ball on the 3 yard line on 4th down head coach Ben McAdoo and the Giants offense decide to go for it and it paid off. Sterling Shepard would be the recipient of Manning’s go ahead touchdown pass at the start of the fourth quarter.
The Giants had trouble running the ball all night, but to close out the game they needed a first down. They got the first down from a 25 yard run by Rashad Jennings, and they were able to run off the rest of the clock in the victory formation.
The Giants have a favorable schedule for the next 2 weeks, but these are games that could be easily lost if they do not keep playing the way they are playing. They will be playing the Bears next week in what seems to be another must win, because every game in the second half of the season is.
