BENGALS (3-4-1) VS. GIANTS (5-3)
MONDAY, 8:30 P.M., METLIFE STADIUM, EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. uTV: ESPN
Announcers: Sean McDonough, Jon Gruden, Lisa Salters
About the Bengals: They went to London two weeks ago, built a fourth-quarter lead against the Washington Redskins and settled for a tie. That sums up their season. The Bengals are still trying to score a signature win and string some positives together. RB has had one big game and WR
has had two, but the Bengals are trying to find a rhythm. QB has taken too many sacks while getting used to his remade receiving corps. The defense ranks in the bottom third of the league in every major statistical category, and until the secondary starts playing better, the sack numbers and the overall numbers won’t improve. The Bengals still have a talented and experienced team, but the time to start scoring more points and putting more pressure on opposing offenses has arrived.
About the Giants: The Giants have been as under the radar as a New York team can be, and they’ve certainly been far from perfect. But they’ve won three in a row to rebound from a three-game skid, and they enter this game confident and in the thick of the playoff race. QB has been good, and the defense has been solid against the run and come up big in important spots to preserve victories. After a slow start, WR
is again showing why the Giants have been patient with some of his antics and extracurricular activities. The Giants are winning despite a negative turnover ratio and one of the league’s least-productive rushing offenses. The defense keeps answering the call, and Manning keeps finding Beckham in the big Olivier Vernon, above, and Jason PierrePaul are the Giants’ top pass rushers.
spots. The Giants are headed in the right direction but still have questions.
Eifert’s season debut was first delayed by offseason ankle surgery and further delayed by a troublesome back issue. He should be healthy, and his presence makes the Bengals a much more dangerous offensive team. Collins is making plays all over the field, and his knack for find-
WHO WILL WIN AND WHY
ing the ball has bailed out the Giants on many occasions.
The big-money free agent acquisition has made an impact, even though he only has two sacks through eight games. The Giants have been good at forcing offenses into mustpass situations, and Vernon and
force offenses to use extra blockers. Vernon has a hand injury, and more big plays are coming as he gets healthier.
Collins leads the Giants in the three most important defensive statistical categories: tackles (69), sacks (three) and interceptions (three). He’s the only NFL player leading his team in all three.
KEYS TO THE GAME
1. Establish the run: Neither team has run the ball the way it has wanted to. The Giants want to mix in enough of the run game to keep defenses guessing and stop blitzing Manning so much.
2. Protect the ball: The Giants are two games over .500 despite having a minus 7 turnover ratio. The Giants know if they don’t take better care of the ball, their sloppiness could catch up with them.
3. Lead the way: When the Bengals were really clicking last season, Green was making his usual share of big plays and Eifert’s ability to take advantage of mismatches in the red zone was making life difficult for opposing defenses. Now that Eifert is healthy, the Bengals need Green and Eifert to lead the way and help them build leads.
Zac Jackson