After sweating out an ‘ugly’ win, the Bengals turn their attention to the struggling Browns

CINCINNATI (AP) — There were some tense moments for the Cincinnati Bengals as they tried to gut out their first-ever road win over the New York Giants.

Chief among them was quarterback Joe Burrow ducking into the medical tent to be evaluated for a concussion after taking a hard shot on a third-down incompletion.

Another came with 3:05 left and the Giants, trailing 10-7, lining up to go for it on fourth-and-2 from the Bengals 36.

Both worked out in Cincinnati’s favor. Burrow ended up being fine and went back in the game. And on the fourth-down play, Bengals cornerback DJ Turner batted away a pass from Daniel Jones intended for Darius Slayton.

That gave the ball back to the Bengals, and on the first play after the two-minute warning, Chase Brown broke away for a 30-yard touchdown run. That all but sealed the strange 17-7 win, one that the Bengals (2-4) sorely needed.

Burrow called it ugly, and it was a lot of the time. But after losing in overtime to visiting Baltimore last week, the Bengals will take it.

“We’re 2-4, so we’re trying to find ourselves,” said Burrow, who scrambled for a career-long 47-yard touchdown in the first quarter. “We’re trying to find wins. We found one today.”

What’s working

The Bengals’ much-maligned defense, now back to full strength, finally showed up. Cincinnati was in Jones’ face all night. Edge rusher Trey Hendrickson had two sacks. The unit forced four punts and two turnovers on downs and had an interception.

What needs help

Burrow was sacked a season-high four times and was constantly pressured. ... Until Brown’s fourth-quarter TD, he and RB Zack Moss had combined for just 36 yards on the ground. The Bengals are averaging just over 100 rushing yards per game. ... Offensive line play has been a recurring problem.

Stock up

B.J. Hill was a disruptive force playing against his former team after returning from a hamstring injury. In the first quarter with the Giants in the red zone, Hill was bearing down on Jones when the quarterback threw a desperate floater that was intercepted by linebacker Germaine Pratt.

Stock down

Burrow called the 47-yard touchdown run “one of my few good plays.” He’s not entirely wrong. He threw for 208 yards without a touchdown. He was sacked a season-high four times and as much he had to scramble, it could have been worse. Part of the problem was an offensive line that had trouble blocking Giants pass rushers.

Injuries

Other than Burrow’s concussion scare, there were no reported injuries.

Key number

4 for 11 (36.4%) — The Bengals’ third-down conversion rate against the Giants.

Next steps

The Bengals will try to take advantage of a struggling AFC North rival when they visit Cleveland (1-5) on Sunday.

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL

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