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The Giants, in their first game since offensive line coach Marc Colombo was sacked, did a lot of good and worse up front in the 19-17 win over the Bengals on Sunday at the stadium Paul Brown.
Building on a ball control attack after quarterback Daniel Jones started in the third quarter with a hamstring injury, the Giants finished with 42 rushing attempts and gained 142 yards, their sixth in a row with more 100 yards rushing. Their possession time was 37:26, the highest in over seven years. There were no bags from Jones or his replacement, Colt McCoy.
Head coach Joe Judge sacked Colombo after the two spoke out as the Giants entered their week off. Colombo’s replacement, veteran assistant Dave DeGuglielmo, kept rookie Shane Lemieux in the starting lineup at left guard and shuffled Will Hernandez for a few playoffs. That doesn’t bode well for Hernandez, who did not return to the starting lineup against the Eagles after missing two games on the reserve / COVID-19 roster and who is now a reserve.
There was no rotation in the offensive tackle, with rookie Matt Peart on the reserve / COVID-19 list. With Peart unavailable to take some of Cam Fleming’s shots, the veteran right tackle has been working hard. His detention penalty on the first play after the two-minute warning nullified a 10-yard pass from McCoy to Wayne Gallman that would have given the Giants a first down and allowed them to overtake the clock.
“We don’t want any penalties at any time,” the judge said. “I’m proud of the way these guys worked. It’s a difficult group. We knew that to be successful we had to throw the ball, bring the ball down.
The judge was not happy with the Giants’ worst special teams performance of the season: “Obviously, it wasn’t good enough,” the judge said. “We won’t be able to compete for the next five weeks if we don’t raise our level of play.”
Rookie security Xavier McKinney was used sparingly during his NFL debut. He got his first shot in defense in the second quarter, put the field third and 18 on the Giants 36-yard line. McKinney assisted on a special team tackle.
The last time the Giants gave up on a kickoff return for a touchdown was Rashad Ross of Washington, who took 101 yards on Sept. 24, 2015.… Special teams ace Nate Ebner has gone to the first quarter with a knee injury and did not return. . OLB Kyler Fackrell was sent off in the third quarter for a calf problem, giving rookie Carter Coughlin more playing time.
The Giants won in Cincinnati for the first time in franchise history. They had been 0-6 on the road against the Bengals. … TE Kaden Smith also missed the game while on the reserve / COVID-19 list. … The win was the 700th regular season win for the Giants, in their 96th season. The only other franchises for the 700-winning club are the Bears (774) and Packers (763).
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