Next game
Buffalo Bills (4-5) at Cincinnati Bengals (3-5-1)
When: 1 p.m. Sunday
TV: Ch. 7, 12
Radio: 700-AM, 1530-AM, 102.7-FM, 104.7-FM
The Cincinnati Bengals started the season with a one-point win against the Jets at MetLife Stadium, but they haven’t won on the road since as their return to the venue ended with a one-point loss to the Giants.
Eli Manning's 3-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Sterling Shepard on fourth and goal and Robbie Gould's extra point were the difference in a 21-20 Giants win that dropped the Bengals to 3-5-1 and moved their playoff hopes to the precipice.
The Bengals rallied from a 14-10 halftime deficit to take a 20-14 lead, but they gained only 37 yards in the fourth quarter and couldn’t stop the Giants (6-3) from rushing for first downs in obvious-run situations on the final drive.
Here are six things to know about the Bengals’ seventh consecutive Monday Night Football road loss:
Trouble in trenches
The New York Giants came into the game ranked last in the NFL in rushing offense at 68.3 yards per game, but they ran for a season-high 122 against the Bengals.
Rashad Jennings carried 15 times for a season-high 87 yards, including a 9-yard on third and 6 with 2:50 remaining and a 25-yarder on the first play after the two-minute warning when everyone in the stadium knew a run was coming.
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On the other side of the ball, the Bengals offensive line got manhandled most of the night. Jeremy Hill 46 yards on 15 carries (3.1), while Giovani Bernard rushed seven times for 17 yards (2.4).
The inability to run the ball was a big reason for the 2-for-11 performance on third down. The average yardage needed on the Bengals’ 11 third downs was 10 yards.
The signature play came with the Bengals trailing by one with 10:05 remaining when Hill got stuffed for no gain on third and 1 at the Cincinnati 21, forcing the Bengals to punt the ball back to the Giants.
New York, on the other hand, converted 6 of 14 third downs. They were 5 of 8 in the first half but failed to convert their first five after the break before a Jennings picked up 9 on third and 6 on the final drive.
“There was an opportunity there in the football game to win the football game,” Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis said. “I look up there, and I think first off, third down, on the two sides of the football – offensively we didn’t do very good today. We didn’t get enough done on third down, and it makes a huge difference. I thought defensively, again, the same thing. They converted some that we can’t let conversions happen.”
Second-half struggle
Sparked by a 71-yard completion to tight end Tyler Eifert on his second snap of the game, Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton was 12 of 17 for 154 yards and a touchdown in the first half for a passer rating of 118.3.
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But in the second half he was a dismal 4 of 12 for 50 yards with an interception for a passer rating of 12.5.
The Bengals had 163 yards in the first half, but only 101 after the break to finish with a season-low 264.
“We just weren’t able to flip the field position and we kept getting, we got pinned back, and then we got third down, third and short, and we weren’t able to get that first down,” Dallton said. “It’s like we just needed that one play to get us going and we never got it.”
Boyd’s bobble
Rookie wide receiver Tyler Boyd appeared to score his first career touchdown on a 20-yard reception that would have given the Bengals a 10-point lead with 8:56 left in the third quarter.
But after catching the ball at the 5, Boyd took two steps before New York cornerback Trevin Wade cut his legs out. Boyd reached the ball over the goal line, but it popped free when he hit the ground. One official ruled touchdown, but another called it incomplete, which was the ruling they went with.
Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis didn’t challenge it, and the Bengals settled for a Mike Nugent field goal that upped their lead to 20-14 instead of 24-14.
Asked if he considered challenging it, Lewis said, “You know the answer, so there’s no reason to ask the question. But again, that’s an opportunity there – just finish the play. We execute the play, we’ve got to, as football players, part of what we’ve got to get done is to hold on to the football there.”
Gutsy Giants
Having already been stopped on fourth and 2 in the second quarter when Bengals defensive tackle Geno Atkins sacked Eli Manning, the Giants were facing fourth and goal at the 3 while trailing by six with 14:12 left in the game.
Rookie head coach Ben McAdoo went for it again, and this time Manning converted with a touchdown pass to Sterling Shepard for the go-ahead score.
The Bengals had only allowed one fourth-down conversion in seven attempts prior to that.
Erickson emerging
Rookie Alex Erickson turned in the team’s longest kickoff and punt returns of the season when he opened the second half with an 84-yarder to set up a Jeremy Hill 9-yard touchdown that put the Bengals in front 17-14.
Erickson, who struggled through the first half of the season before breaking off a 65-yard kickoff return against Washington, added a career-best 18-yard punt return later in the third quarter, which led to the near touchdown by Boyd and eventual Nugent field goal.
The Bengals came into the game averaging an NFL worst 5.1 yards per punt return, but he had three attempts for 35 yards (11.7) against the Giants.
Winning woes
The Bengals lost their fourth consecutive road game while falling to 0-5-1 against teams with winning records this year and 0-9-1 in their last 10 overall.
Cincinnati has gone more than a calendar year without beating a team above .500. The last time was Nov. 1 last year in a 16-10 win at 4-3 Pittsburgh.
“The reality is, this is a sport, everybody is really good, everybody is getting paid a ton of money to play this game as well,” left tackle Andrew Whitworth said. “They are going to make plays, the ball is going to bounce their way. For us we just have to keep finding a way to put our best on the field and hopefully out-execute teams to the point that the ball will be in our possession and we will find a way to win.”
Since the 8-0 start to last season, the Bengals are 7-9-1.
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