Who Dey
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- Mar 18, 2019
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The Giants have won three straight games and currently find themselves in first place in the NFC East, but any good feelings on Sunday will be muted.
Quarterback Daniel Jones left the game with a right hamstring injury early in the third quarter of Sunday’s 19-17 win over the Bengals. He returned for two plays, but hobbled off the field after an incompletion that showed he wasn’t throwing the ball with his usual zip.
Colt McCoy didn’t do much with the offense the rest of the way, but the defense forced a pair of turnovers and kept the Brandon Allen-led offense from taking advantage of Jones’ absence. They only allowed the Bengals to pick up 155 yards on the afternoon and the only Bengals touchdown in the first 57 minutes of action came on a 103-yard kickoff return by Brandon Wilson in the first quarter.
The Bengals finally got an offensive touchdown after a pass interference call set them up on the 1-yard-line late in the fourth quarter. Allen hit Tee Higgins for the score with 2:33 to play and cut the Giants’ lead to two points. The Bengals kicked deep and were in position to get the ball back with a quick stop. It looked like they failed to get it, but a holding penalty on right tackle Cam Fleming wiped out a Wayne Gallman first down.
The Giants punted and Allen got a chance to try for a comeback win. The effort started with good field position thanks to an Alex Erickson punt return, but Allen was sacked by Jabaal Sheard and lost a fumble that ended the game.
Allen was 17-of-29 for 136 yards and an interception in his first start as the team’s choice to replace Joe Burrow. Those numbers weren’t overly impressive and Allen padded his stats a bit after the Giants went up two scores in the fourth quarter, but it was better than Ryan Finley managed in relief of Burrow in Week 11, so it looks like it may be a painful closing stretch for the Bengals if things don’t take a dramatic turn for the better.
The win moves the Giants up to 4-7 and they’re ahead of Washington in the division because they beat the Football Team twice already this season. They will head to Seattle next weekend to try for a fourth straight win and their chances will look a lot better if Jones is able to get back into the lineup.