Giants Takeaways from 19-17 win over Bengals, including Daniel Jones exiting with hamstring injury

The Giants are in first place for at least the next 30 hours or so, but their celebration will be muted because the victory was costly.

They may have hung on to beat the Cincinnati Bengals 19-17 to temporarily take over first place in the NFC East with a 4-7 record, but they lost quarterback Daniel Jones along the way. Jones suffered a strained right hamstring early in the third quarter, and veteran backup Colt McCoy was forced to finish the game.

Jones appeared to get hurt on a seven-yard run and managed to stay in the game two more plays. On the next drive, Jones limped onto the field to try and play through the pain. But it was clear he couldn’t when he was unable to plant his right leg while making a short throw (that was nearly intercepted).

So he limped off the field again, this time for good.

Jones’ status will obviously be the dominant topic for the Giants this week as they prepare for their next game at Seattle next Sunday. The good news is that Jones’ attempt to return to the game would seem to indicate he suffered only a mild strain. But hamstrings can be tricky, taking from a few days to a few weeks to heal.

Jones will surely undergo an MRI on Monday to make sure there were no tears and that it was just a mild strain. Then maybe we’ll get some idea of when he could return, though surely Joe Judge won’t be forthcoming with that information.

The problem for the Giants is this: Their next four games are brutal. They play at Seattle, vs. Arizona, vs. Cleveland, and at Baltimore. That was going to be a rough stretch even with Jones. Without him? The Giants might have no chance.

But at least the Giants have guaranteed some meaningful football when December begins next week. Their victory pushed them into a first-place tie with Washington, but they beat Washington twice so they technically own first place in the NFC East by themselves. The catch, of course, is the Philadelphia Eagles are lurking right behind them, and could recapture the division lead with a win in Seattle on Monday night.

The way the Eagles are playing, of course, that might be a longshot. It’s much more likely the Giants will control their own destiny – though that’s a darker picture if they’re forced to play without Jones.

For now, here are some more takeaways from the Giants’ biggest win since 2016…

• Give a ton of credit to the Giants defense for this win, especially since we’ve all seen them get burned in the past by backup quarterbacks, but Patrick Graham’s unit didn’t give Cincinnati’s Brandon Allen a chance. Allen completed just 17 of 29 passes for 136 yards, and the Bengals had only 155 yards of offense. Safety Logan Ryan had a huge forced fumble and fumble recovery in the fourth quarter that led to the Giants field goal that put the game seemingly out of reach. And the game-winning play came on the final play, when DE Jabaal Sheard sacked Allen and forced a fumble that Leonard Williams recovered, ending the Bengals’ shot at a game-winning field goal drive before it even began.

• Jones was having a nice day before he got hurt. He had completed 16 of 27 passes for 213 yards and had run six times for 19 yards. McCoy, in his emergency duty, was a shaky 6 of 10 for 31 yards. Included in there was a miss of a wide open Dion Lewis early in the fourth quarter for what should’ve been an easy touchdown that could’ve put the game away.

• Tight end Evan Engram remains as maddening as he is talented. He got off to a huge start in this game, getting a step on Bengals S Vonn Bell and hauling in a 53-yard catch to set up the Giants’ first touchdown. Then he cost them another when he fumbled at the Bengals 15 after losing his balance after a catch. He finished with six catches for 129 yards, though it felt like a roller coaster ride throughout.

• The Bengals answered the Giants’ game-opening touchdown with a 103-yard kickoff return by Brandon Wilson. That had to really burn Joe Judge, a long-time special teams coach. And it was awful. The only Giant who came close to making a tackle was kicker Graham Gano. The Bengals blocked a huge and perfect seam up the middle for Wilson. It was stunning because of how well the Giants’ special teams had played this year. Even more stunning: They got burned again in the third quarter, this time on a fake punt that the Bengals ran for a first down. And they nearly got burned again on Alex Erickson’s 29-yard kickoff return to set up the Bengals’ final drive. LB Cam Brown made a diving tackle that prevented what would’ve been a shocking, game-ending touchdown.

• Wayne Gallman, now that he’s getting some blocking (more on that in a bit) is starting to show he can be a serviceable back in the NFL. He had 24 carries for a career-high 94 yards. He also scored a touchdown for the fifth straight game. More importantly, he’s running with confidence, hitting the line hard, pushing the pile and breaking through for some mid-size runs. He seems to be in a very good grove. He’s no Saquon Barkley, but he finally has found a rhythm to help the Giants offense.

• The Giants opening touchdown drive nearly ended in disaster, but Judge and offensive coordinator Jason Garrett saved it by being persistent. After Engram’s big catch got the Giants to the Bengals 4, Gallman was stuffed from there, from the 2, and then from the 1. That set up 4^th and goal from just inches away. Rather than settle for an early field goal, the Giants ran it again and this time Gallman went flying over the top for a touchdown

• The firing of Giants offensive line coach Marc Colombo, and replacing him with Dave DeGuglielmo, had … well, no obvious effect on the line, which continued it’s trend of improvement from Colombo’s final weeks. Quarterback Daniel Jones had a ton of time to run the offense, and there was some strong blocking in the run game too. There was some rotation at left guard where rookie Shane Lemieux started and then rotated with Will Hernandez. All in all, it was good – much better than early in the season, which is a very good sign.

• DT Dexter Lawrence still hasn’t really unleashed the pass rush potential the Giants believe he has (he has only three sacks so far), but he’s quietly having a terrific season. The Bengals tried a couple of times to run a screen pass that Lawrence expertly snuffed out. He does get a strong push in the pocket, too, which has undoubtedly helped Leonard Williams, who had yet another sack (giving him six on the season). Lawrence and Williams have been two of the Giants’ four best defensive players all year (along with cornerback James Bradberry and linebacker Blake Martinez).

• The Giants MVP this season? Probably kicker Graham Gano. He added four more field goals on Sunday, even though he spent the previous 10 days on the COVID-19/Reserves list after testing positive during the bye week. He has now made 24 straight field goals.

• Rookie DE Niko Lalos, making his NFL debut after being called up off the practice squad for this game, made a huge, diving interception in the third quarter. He also got a big Twitter shoutout from LeBron James before the game. Yes, LeBron James. Both James and Lalos went to St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in Akron, Ohio (though obviously not at the same time).