EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Joe Burrow scored on a career-long 47-yard run on the opening possession, and the Cincinnati Bengals’ defense carried them to a much-needed 17-7 victory over the New York Giants on Sunday night.
Evan McPherson made a go-ahead 37-yard field goal in the third quarter after a botched snap and hold contributed to him missing a potential game-winning kick a week earlier. And Chase Brown scored on a 30-yard run with 1:52 to play — one play after he fumbled and the ball rolled out of bounds — to give the Bengals (2-4) some hope after a dismal start.
Rookie Tyrone Tracy ran for a 1-yard touchdown for the Giants (2-4), who are winless are home in three games and have one scored one touchdown. They failed to take advantage of a Bengals defense that came in ranked 31st in the league in scoring.
The Giants punted four times in the first half. In the second, they turned it over on downs twice and Greg Joseph missed two field goal attempts.
The high-scoring Bengals were coming off a heartbreaking 41-38 overtime loss to visiting Baltimore, their second defeat this season in which Burrow and the offense put up more than 30 points. McPherson’s missed kick contributed to the defeat, but the Bengals also could not stop the Ravens and Lamar Jackson.
This time, Cincinnati was led defensively by Trey Hendrickson, who had two sacks, and linebacker Germaine Pratt, who intercepted Daniel Jones near the goal line in the first quarter.
After Tracy’s TD run tied the game, the Bengals quickly re-took the lead as Burrow danced in the backfield to give himself time to find Ja’Marr Chase on a 33-yard pass to the Giants 37. McPherson converted his go-ahead field goal with 41 seconds left in the quarter.
New York had a chance to tie the game soon after, but Joseph missed a 47-yard attempt when the kick took a hard left as it neared the uprights.
The Giants had one more chance to tie it late in the fourth quarter, but a crossing pass to Darius Slayton was broken up by DJ Turner. Burrow kept the ensuing drive alive with a 29-yard first-down pass to Andrei Iosivas.
The Bengals then got lucky on the next play when Brown fumbled at the Giants 30 and the ball rolled out of bounds after safety Jason Pinnock failed to recover it.
The Giants, who had not scored a touchdown in their first 10 quarters at home this season, finally found the end zone on Tracy’s 1-yard run with 5:48 left in the third quarter. It capped a 16-play, 79 drive that featured two fourth-down conversions by Tracy. The possession began after Zack Moss lost a fumble.
Burrow put the Bengals ahead with his legs instead of his arm. After scrambling for a first down on the third play from scrimmage, he was not touched in rumbling 47 yards for a TD on a third-and-18 play.
The Giants played without playmaking rookie receiver Malik Nabers (concussion) and starting running back Devin Singletary (groin) for the second straight week, and Nabers’ absence showed.
Jones went 22 of 41 for 205 yards. Burrow had similar numbers — 19 of 28 for 208 yards — but made the plays that mattered.