Beleaguered Bengals defense facing another stiff challenge

Cincinnati travels to New York Giants on Sundya
New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones (8) runs with the football as Seattle Seahawks defensive end Leonard Williams (99) tries to tackle during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024, in Seattle. (AP Photo/John Froschauer)

Credit: AP

Credit: AP

New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones (8) runs with the football as Seattle Seahawks defensive end Leonard Williams (99) tries to tackle during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024, in Seattle. (AP Photo/John Froschauer)

CINCINNATI — Defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo was beside himself looking at some of the plays that cost his Cincinnati Bengals defense from being able to close out the game Sunday when the Bengals lost in overtime to the Baltimore Ravens.

The top priority was stopping the run, and the Bengals had done well in that regard until Derrick Henry’s 51-yard carry to set up the game-winning field goal. Pressuring Lamar Jackson on odd downs was the next task, and Cincinnati had plenty of opportunities to stop him from making a play but couldn’t wrap him up.

Now, the Bengals (1-4) face a similar task going to play the New York Giants (2-3) on Sunday night.

“They’ve got a quarterback that can run and this rookie I believe from Purdue (running back Tyrone Tracy), he’s doing a nice job,” Anarumo said. “I’m assuming 26 (running Devin Singletary) will be back as well, so they’ll be at full strength for us.”

Singletary was sidelined last week because of a groin injury, but in his absence Tracy, a rookie fifth-round pick, stepped up and ran for 129 yards on 18 carries in a 29-20 win at Seattle.

Jones, capable of making plays with his legs as well, has shown improvement since a poor opener when he threw two interceptions, failed to lead the offense to points on two fourth-quarter trips to the red zone and finished with a 44.3 passer rating in a 28-6 loss to Minnesota. Jones has completed 70.4 percent of his passes over the past three games, going 2-1 and averaging 258 yards passing in that stretch.

The Giants also should be getting first-round draft pick Malik Nabers back after he missed last week with a concussion. He still leads the receivers with 386 yards and three touchdowns, while Darius Slayton adds 244 yards on 18 catches and Wan’Dale Robinson has 230 yards and two touchdowns on 32 receptions.

Cincinnati’s defense has been one of the worst in the league, allowing 29.0 points per game (second worst) and 151.4 yards rushing (third most). The Bengals will be in the national spotlight, where they have traditionally struggled on the road, and Anarumo, a Staten Island, N.Y., native, especially could have some pride on the line with more than 100 family members expected to attend.

“I’ve got to be honest; I don’t care if it was on the moon this weekend,” Anarumo said. “I want to make sure we do what we’re supposed to do. Just settle down, have a good game, just win the game. Just win the game. That’s what’s important.”

Offensively, the Bengals have done just about everything but finish games. Their top 5 scoring offense could be challenged by the Giants, who allow just 20.8 points per game (11th fewest). New York gives up 321.4 yards per game (20th) and 218.2 yards of that is through the air.

The Giants’ pass rush has been the best in the league this year with 22 sacks, led by Dexter Lawrence’s 6.0 sacks in five games to go along with 10 quarterback hits. Safety Jason Pinnock adds another dynamic to the pass rush with three sacks, and outside linebacker Brian Burns has two sacks and four quarterback hits to go along with five passes defended and one forced fumble.

Eleven different players have recorded sacks this season. Linebacker Micah McFadden leads the team with 31 tackles over four games, and linebacker Darius Muasau accounts for the team’s only interception, but five players have recorded fumble recoveries.

Bengals coach Zac Taylor said “wholesale changes” could be coming for his team after the 1-4 start, but what that looks like this week is unclear. Cincinnati lost leads late in losses to Kansas City and Baltimore and all of the four losses have been one-score games.

“We’re 1-4, so ... it hasn’t been good enough in any area, and we have to finish games,” Taylor said. “It’s wholesale changes. I’m sure that’s what people want. We’ve lost one-score games on the last play of the game, and there’s a lot of areas we can improve in all three phases to finish those games off. ... We’ll continue to monitor everything and make the decisions we think are best to put us going forward. We’re honest with ourselves. We’re accountable for everything, and just got to find a way to win, and I feel like this team is still going in the right direction, still plenty of opportunity in front of us, and we just got to refocus this week and find a way to get a win.”

SUNDAY’S GAME

Bengals at Giants, 8:20 p.m., NBC, 700, 1530, 102.7, 104.7

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