Key Takeaways From Big Blue’s Loss to the Bengals
The New York Football Giants had a big game against the Cincinnati Bengals. There were so many things happening during this game. It started slowly, but things picked up by the end of the game. Both the Giants and the Bengals took a beating during this game. Daniel Jones was knocked all over the place, Joe Burrow was body slammed, and Dexter Lawrence was a bulldozing machine. Unfortunately, the Giants now fall to 2-4 after losing this game with a final score of 17-7. Here are the three biggest takeaways for the Giants from this weekend's game.
1. The Offense Needs Malik Nabers
The offense played their hearts out on the field. It took them time to get the ball down the field. They were playing against a defense that has been doing okay around the league, but not by much. Every play that got the ball to move down the field for the Giants was called back due to illegal moves made by other team members. Darius Slayton made a beautiful play for a 56-yard run, but it was called back. This was a moment Giants fans had been waiting for. In recent weeks, Malik Nabers has managed to be the guy to move the ball up the field. The Giants were able to pull through without him last week; however, this week, it showed that they need him back on the field. During several plays, they used up-and-coming rookie star Tyrone Tracy Jr and got the ball down the field. The Giants played smartly during different parts of the game. However, errors were still being made in the field, and it did not look good for them.
2. The Giants’ Defense Has Built the Big Blue Wall
The defensive line was on fire in this game. The Giants managed to become the leading team in their division with the number of sacks they carried. Kayvon Thibodeaux did not play in this game; however, Lawrence and Brian Burns stepped up. The defensive line had multiple sacks on Burrow. Burns did more of the footwork than anyone else on the defense. They were on top of everybody on the Bengals' offensive line. There were points where the Giants let things pass by, but not by much.
3. The Special Teams Need to Find the Right Guy
The special teams suffered on the field this week big time. They could not find a way to get the job done. They had signed Matt Haack to their roster 24 hours before this game even occurred. He did not get much practice time in before game day on Sunday. Both Graham Gano and Jamie Gillan were out this week. Greg Joseph was this week's kicker and he could not have had worse timing. He kicked two different field goals, one that went for 47 yards and missed the field goal, failing to tie the game. The second kick was a little bit closer. The Giants were going for the onside kick, but he also missed the second kick. Joseph is not the kicker the Giants needed for this game.
The Giants will be practicing this week without a doubt and working to fix the broken puzzle pieces that were missed during this week's game. There will be plenty to work on for this rising team. Next weekend they will be playing the Philadelphia Eagles in the Meadowlands. A classic matchup that many people will be watching.
