It took until midway through the third quarter, but the Giants have put points on the board and tied Sunday night’s matchup with the Bengals.
Rookie running back Tyrone Tracy powered his way into the end zone for a 1-yard touchdown, making the score 7-7.
It was the first touchdown of Tracy’s career.
The Giants needed 16 plays to go 79 yards to get into the end zone, taking 6:45 off the clock. The club converted third-and-1 on the New York 32, fourth-and-2 on the New York 40, and fourth-and-1 on the Cincinnati 35 to keep the chains moving.
But the biggest play was a defensive pass interference penalty called on Bengals cornerback DJ Turner. Because he committed the foul on Darius Slayton in the end zone, the Giants got the ball at the 1-yard line. Tracy put the ball in the paint on the next play.
The Giants had previously gone for it on fourth-and-2 in the third quarter in their own territory, but Daniel Jones’ pass fell incomplete. New York got the ball back when Zack Moss fumbled and linebacker Micah McFadden recovered the loose ball.
There hasn’t been much to write home about in Sunday’s matchup between the Bengals and Giants, but aside from one play, New York’s defense has contained Cincinnati’s high-powered offense.
The Bengals have a 7-0 lead at halftime.
Cincinnati quarterback Joe Burrow ran for a 47-yard touchdown on the team’s opening drive, converting a third-and-18 on the play. But after that, Cincinnati punted on each of its remaining five possessions in the half.
But on the other side, the Giants have not been able to get much going. New York advanced to Cincinnati’s 14-yard line on its second drive. But on first-and-10 from the Cincinnati 14, quarterback Daniel Jones was pressured and threw a ball up to the middle of the field, which was easily intercepted by linebacker Germaine Pratt.
The Giants have not gotten into Cincinnati territory since. But New York will receive the second-half kickoff.
Burrow is 9-of-15 passing for 87 yards. He also leads with 57 yards rushing and a touchdown on two carries. He’s been sacked three times, though pressured plenty more. Tee Higgins has four catches for 48 yards.
Jones has completed 8-of-16 passes for 81 yards and leads the team with 37 yards rushing.
The Bengals have an early lead over the Giants on Sunday night after quarterback Joe Burrow showed off his wheels.
Facing third-and-18, Burrow pulled the ball down, went to his right, and ran it 47 yards for a touchdown to give Cincinnati a 7-0 advantage.
It was not only the longest run of Burrow’s career, but also the longest run ever by a Cincinnati quarterback, according to the NBC broadcast.
Burrow had previously converted third-and-6 on the possession with a 10-yard run.
He also completed an 11-yard pass to Tee Higgins to move the chains.
Zack Moss had a 5-yard run and Chase Brown had a 4-yard run on the possession.
Burrow had been sacked on second-and-10 at the Giants’ 39, which put the Bengals in that unfavorable third-and-18. But there was nothing sneaky about Burrow’s athleticism as he sprinted toward the paint and dove toward the pylon to score.
The Giants will have to wait at least another week to have their starting running back in the lineup.
Devin Singletary (groin) is inactive for New York’s Sunday night matchup with Cincinnati.
Singletary was limited for all three days of practice this week and was listed as questionable.
In four games this year, Singletary has 221 yards rushing with a pair of touchdowns, plus 10 catches for 72 yards.
Punter Jamie Gillan (left hamstring) is also inactive after he was listed as questionable. The Giants added Matt Haack to the roster to handle the punting duties.
Giants receiver Malik Nabers (concussion protocol) was previously ruled out.
Giants cornerback Tre Hawkins, guard Jake Kubas, receiver Bryce Ford-Wheaton, and quarterback Tommy DeVito are also inactive. DeVito is the emergency third QB.
For the Bengals, running back Chase Brown (quad) and cornerback Mike Hilton (knee) are both active after they were questionable for the game.
Cincinnati’s inactives are defensive end Cedric Johnson, offensive tackle Andrew Stueber, defensive tackle Lawrence Guy, receiver Jermaine Burton, tight end Tanner McLachlan, and defensive tackle Jay Tufele.
The Browns lost again on Sunday and that meant that head coach Kevin Stefanski faced a familiar question at his postgame press conference.
Stefanski was asked if Deshaun Watson will remain the quarterback for the 1-5 club. Stefanski said that there will not be a change after losing to the Eagles 20-16.
“I thought there were some good moments,” Stefanski said, via a transcript from the Eagles. “You know, we need to protect. We need to keep him clean when we can. That’s a good front. I thought the guys battled like crazy. Had some decent opportunities there, but got to find a way to be more explosive.”
Watson was 16-of-23 for 168 yards and went 11-of-22 for 122 yards in the second half, so it was a better performance that some of the others that Watson has put on the field so far this season. The result was still a loss, though, and frustrations with the offense will continue to rise as long as the Browns keep winding up on the wrong side of the scoreboard.
