EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Sunday night might have been a primetime show but it was all about winning by whatever means necessary.
And the Bengals proved before a national audience that they could go on the road in a hostile environment and win ugly, thanks to two things that New Yorkers can appreciate – grit and toughness.
Joe Burrow ran for a career-long touchdown and the Bengals defense stopped a fourth-down attempt at the Cincinnati 36 with three minutes left to help the visiting Cincinnati Bengals (2-4) squeak past New York Giants, 17-7, Sunday night.
For Cincinnati (2-4), it was their first road win against the Giants in five tries and just their third win in the Meadowlands all time.
The Giants (2-4) finished the game 3-for-5 on fourth down and attempted a fourth down in field goal range after Greg Joseph missed a potential game-tying field goal from 47 yards midway through the fourth quarter.
Burrow was treated in the medical tent after taking a hit from Brian Burns and slamming the back of his head off the turf with just under nine minutes left in the fourth quarter. Jake Browning began warming up on the sideline moments before Burrow came out of the tent and returned to the sideline looking at his tablet.
Burrow connected on a 29-yard completion on third-and-12 with 2:05 left in the fourth. On the next play, the Giants had a chance when Chase Brown fumbled at New York 30 but the Giants could not recover before the ball went out of bounds. Brown redeemed himself two plays later with a game-sealing 30-yard touchdown run up the middle.
Burrow accounted for 57 of the 69 yards on the ground, including a career-best 47-yard run on third when the Giants defense vacated the left side of their defense to help defend the pass. Burrow beat safety Jason Pinnock on a drive the pylon for the touchdown.
His previous best run was for 23 yards twice, once in 2020 and once in 2022. Burrow finished 19-of-28 for 208 yards while New York quarterback Daniel Jones was 19-of-35 for 173 yards and an interception. Both quarterbacks led their teams in rushing.
The Giants thought they had finally awoken from their first half slumber when Darius Slayton caught a Daniel Jones pass and outran the Bengals defense for 56 yards to the Cincinnati 35. But left tackle Andrew Thomas was illegally downfield blocking and the play came back.
The Giants defense kept the game close with three first half sacks of Burrow, including two by Azeez Ojulari.
The Bengals stopped the Giants on fourth-and-2 at their 38 on the opening drive of the second half but Cincinnati returned the favor when Zack Moss fumbled at the Giants 24 and Micah McFadden recovered at the Giants 21.
The Giants took the ensuing drive and marched 79 yards in 16 plays in six minutes, 45 seconds, converting a pair of fourth downs and tying the game on a one-yard plunge by rookie running back Tyrone Tracy. The touchdown immediately followed a 16-yard pass interference call on Bengals corner DJ Turner.
The Bengals took the next drive and thanks to a 33-yard pass to Ja’Marr Chase, the Bengals drove to the Giants 1. Chase Brown ran into the end zone untouched but Cordell Volson was called for a hold and the Bengals had to settle for a 37-yard field goal and a 10-7 lead.
