5 things we learned from the Bengals’ bounce-back win over the Giants

The defense might be rounding into shape.

The Cincinnati Bengals escaped MetLife Stadium with a win. And with only two victories on the year, it was a big one.

Still, fans weren’t left feeling more confident of the team. So, what did we learn from the ugly 17-7 win over the New York Giants on Sunday Night Football?

Joe Burrow has really got wheels

We knew the franchise QB was athletic, but who would’ve thought that he’d hit a career-high top speed of 19.86 mph while escaping the pocket, especially after reconstructive knee surgery his rookie season?

The passing game struggled, but Burrow’s play was the one that kept the Giants on their heels the rest of the game. That just goes to show that the star can win games in multiple ways.

The defense still has teeth

Yes, it was against Daniel Jones and a depleted Giants offense, but remember that even the New England Patriots cut through the Bengals defense like a hot knife through butter. Last night, meanwhile, Cincinnati looked more like cold butter, even if the opposition was nothing more than a spoon.

Some key players and veterans redeemed themselves with inspired play in New Jersey. Cam Taylor-Britt was back to being a physically dominant corner. Sam Hubbard was moving better.

And BJ Hill had a huge hit on Jones that resulted in a Germaine Pratt interception. Hopefully this is the one that gets the defense its confidence back.

Zack Moss isn’t a lead back

In a game where offensive yards were hard to come by, Moss had arguably the worst day of anyone. He rushed for just 13 yards on six carries and had a fumble with the Bengals up 7-0 and in the red zone, which let the Giants back into the game. New York would march down the field for their only points of the evening.

Meanwhile, Chase Brown maintained his usually hearty average, rushing 10 times for 53 yards and a touchdown, most of those yards coming off his 30-yard TD that iced the game with under two minutes to play.

Yes, Brown also had a fumble that could’ve swung the outcome in the Giants’ favor, but fortunately it bounced out of bounds. Brown isn’t perfect, but he offers a lot more potential than Moss, who hasn’t demonstrated that he can sufficiently fulfill his role of “thunder” to Brown’s “lightning” as was imagined by fans to start the season.

Ja’Marr Chase is human

The superstar wide receiver was coming off one of the best games of his career against the Baltimore Ravens, a 193-yard, two-touchdown masterpiece. But the Giants were able to keep him in check thanks in large part to a pass rush that was in Burrow’s face all day.

But on the one play where Chase could’ve broken free for big yardage, he dropped the pass, much to the collective surprise of football fans across the nation.

Of course, this is so rare that it’s nothing to worry about. And on any other day, the offense would’ve bounced right back.

The o-line is good but not great

Go ahead and throw away all those encouraging stats about Burrow not getting touched. The o-line is clearly much-improved, but it is a long way from being immune to bad days or invincible against premiere pass rushers.

Azeez Ojulari had two sacks, and Brian Burns gave Cincinnati’s o-line fits the entire evening, resulting in Burrow being forced to either flee the pocket or check down a lot more than he had in previous games. If the Giants offense had even an average night, this game would’ve ended very badly for the Bengals.

Up next, the Bengals travel to Cleveland to face the Browns in what should be another very winnable game. However, Cincinnati has struggled with its intrastate rival in recent years. Time to change that.