Giants lead NFC East
QB Jones leaves game in the second half with a hamstring injury
The Giants hold off the Cincinnati Bengals despite losing quarterback Daniel Jones to a hamstring injury in the third quarter. New York (4-7), which opened the season 0-5, moved into first place in the NFC East with its third consecutive
victory.
CINCINNATI — The Giants grinded to the top of the NFC East standings on Sunday for the first time since 2016, but they paid a price.
Quarterback Daniel Jones left their 19-17 road win over the Cincinnati Bengals with a right hamstring injury at the 6:04 mark in the third quarter and did not return. The severity of his injury is not yet known. He’s scheduled to have an MRI on Monday.
“I won’t say I’m optimistic at this point right now,” Giants coach Joe Judge said. “No, I don’t want to go ahead and say yea or nay because I don’t have the medical information. You know, I’m sure he’s going to try everything he can.”
Jones went downafter completing a short pass in the third quarter with the score tied at 10. He returned for two plays on the next series but then was relieved by Colt McCoy, who played the rest of the game.
“I’m certainly not discouraged,” Jones said. “You know, I think it’s tough to tell exactly what it is right now.”
Kicker Graham Gano (four field goals) and the Giants defense did enough to win the game — barely.
Defensive lineman Jabaal Sheard’s sack-fumble in the final minute, recovered by Leonard Williams, sealed a nail-biter victory. That was one of three second-half turnovers forced by the Giants in a smothering defensive effort that held the Bengals offense and backup QB Brandon Allen to 155 total yards.
Rookie defensive end Niko Lalos, in his NFL debut, made a third-quarter interception off a deflection by cornerback Darnay Holmes, and Logan Ryan forced and recovered a fumble in the fourth.
The Giants (4-7) moved into a first-place tie with Washington