Cover 3: Takeaways from Giants vs. Bengals

Matt Citak: While the Giants ultimately fell short against the Bengals, the defense deserves credit for its performance. Heading into Sunday Night Football, the Bengals had scored at least 33 points in their previous three contests with an average of 417 total yards and 23 or more first downs in each game during that span. Joe Burrow had four consecutive games with multiple touchdown passes and a total of 12 over that stretch, while averaging 301.5 passing yards per game with a 117.2 average passer rating. Cincinnati had also been thriving when it came to situational football, ranking as a top five offense on both third downs and inside the red zone.

But the Giants’ defense has also been firing on all cylinders.

Cincinnati finished with just 17 points, 304 total yards, and 13 first downs, all of which were their lowest totals since a Week 1 loss to the New England Patriots. Burrow completed 67.9 percent of his passes for just 208 yards, both representing his second-lowest marks of the season, with zero touchdowns for an 89.6 passer rating, although he did get into the end zone on a 47-yard run. Considering the fact that Burrow is currently being discussed as an MVP candidate, containing him through the air was an impressive feat for the Giants. The unit also held the Bengals to just four conversions on 11 third down attempts, while keeping them out of the end zone on their lone trip inside the 20-yard line. The defense has now allowed five touchdowns on opponents’ 12 trips inside the red zone, with their 41.7 percent red zone defense ranking as the sixth-best in the NFL. The Giants also have the league’s 11^th-ranked defense on third down (34.3 percent).

A big reason for the defense’s success this year has been the pass rush. The Giants got to Burrow for seven quarterback hits and four sacks, with the latter being the most he’s been sacked all year. Brian Burns had one, marking his third sack in the last four games with a total of six quarterback hits during that span, and Dexter Lawrence notched his seventh sack of the season. The Pro Bowl defensive lineman is now just a half-sack shy of his previous career-high of 7.5 sacks set in 2022.

The most disruptive player on Sunday Night Football, however, was outside linebacker Azeez Ojulari, whose workload increased due to Kayvon Thibodeaux landing on injured reserve with a wrist injury. Ojulari registered two sacks and, according to Next Gen Stats, finished with a team-high six pressures on 26 pass rushes. It was his highest pressure rate in a game since Week 18 of the 2021 season, according to NGS. Prior to Monday Night Football, the Giants’ 26 sacks on the season are four more than any other team, while the unit ranks inside the top 10 in both points and yards allowed. Despite the team’s 2-4 record, Shane Bowen’s defense is playing great football.

“We’ve played well,” Burns said after the game. “Like I said, there is still so much more that you can do and there are some opportunities that we have to take advantage of in order to change the game. Just speaking from a holistic view, we have been playing well.”