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By Michael Stewart/@golferbad

The New York Giants continue their winning ways with their 3rd straight win. It wasn’t easy as the Giants held on to defeat the Cincinnati Bengals 19-17 and are now in 1st place in the NFC East.  The quarterback continues to play flawless football with his 3rd straight game of no turnovers. However; mid-way through the 3rd quarter he sustained an injury to his hamstring; which will be evaluated on Monday. Here are my top 5 reasons why the Giants won:

Battle in the Trenches:

The Offensive line continues to shine with another dominant performance against the Bengals Defensive front 7 by finishing with 142 yards on the ground and allowing no sacks in the game.  The Giants defense made two big sacks on Quarterback Brandon Allen in key moments and held the Bengals to 40 yards on the ground.

Finishers:

  • The Giants defense bent, but didn’t break as they were able to hold onto to the lead with solid performances all around in the closing minutes.

Time of Possession:

The Giants once again dominated in this department with a 37:26 T.O.P to the Bengals 22:34. This was largely due to the Giants completed control in the running game and their 3rd & 4th down conversions.

Opportunistic:

  • The Giants were 9/21 on 3rd down conversion, 3/3 on 4th down conversion, and 1 for 3 in the Red Zone. The Giants were able to create three turnovers to the Bengals one and finished the game at +2 in that department.

Big Plays:

Tight End Evan Engram played his best game as a Giant with 6 receptions for 129 yards. Engram stretched the field a number of times in the game; which turned out to be big plays.

 Final Thoughts:

The Giants at 4-7 will enjoy their 1st week in first place since 2016 and must now go through a 4 game stretch against playoff worthy opponents starting the Seattle Seahawks next week. The Seahawks are in 1st place in the NFC west with a 7-3 record and have weapons on both sides of the ball.

Keep an eye out for my Coaches Corner pregame preview this week.