A review of the Giants' 17-7 loss to the Bengals on Sunday:
offense
Not enough.
Not even close.
Although he had 24 first downs, he converted just 5 of 15 on third down and 3 of 5 on fourth down.
You don't win with just one bad touchdown. Daniel Jones (22/41, 205 yards) had an incredible interception.
The passing game wasn't always crisp, with the longest completion just 15 yards. Jones (11-56) was also a leading rusher, which wasn't ideal.
Rookie Tyrone Tracy (17-50) got off to a slow start.
LT Andrew Thomas was sacked by Trey Hendrickson for 9 yards in the second quarter.
Thomas was then flagged for a foul downfield penalty that took away a 56-yard goal to Darius Slayton.
Not ideal.
Slayton (6-57) was targeted 11 times. There wasn't enough production.
Wan’Dale Robinson only caught five of 11 targets. There are bad ones all over the place.
Grade: F
defense
It was an amazing performance in many ways.
The Bengals averaged 28 points and had 10 points until the end.
Joe Burrow (19 of 28, 208 yards) was well below his season average. Tee Higgins (7-77) and Jamar Chase (5-72) were good, but not great.
Burrow was sacked four times, and replacement starter Azeez Ojulari pitched well twice.
Brian Burns came to visit. He was sacked on the first series, dropping Zack Moss on third down for a 4-yard loss.
Micah McFadden forced two fumbles, one of which was recovered by Bobby Okereke, but Jason Pinnock was unable to secure the other fumble.
An early big break allowed Burrow a 47-yard TD run, and a late breakdown allowed Chase Brown a 30-yard TD run. The Bengals only had 13 first downs.
Grade: A-
special teams
Greg Joseph has seen better days. He attempted 47 and 45 field goals, but both missed to left.
That's called a bad day at the office.
Rookie punter Matt Haak made his Giants debut without incident.
He made a 43-yard shot in the second quarter that drove the Bengals to their own 12-yard line.
He averaged 46.8 yards on his four punts.
Grade: D
coaching
Brian Daboll went for it on The Gambler with five fourth downs.
I have to admit, Daboll looked like a desperate and reckless risk on a fourth-and-2 from his own 37-yard line early in the fourth quarter.
It wasn't a sacrifice for the Giants, but it was still a strange decision.
As a play-caller, Daboll needs to find ways to create more big plays and figure out why his team can't find the end zone when playing at home.
Shane Bowen's defense kept Barrow hot and did enough to secure the win.
Grade: C
