Giants @ Bengals
This game got off to a hot start as the Giants moved down the field quickly on their first drive, which was thanks in large part to a 53-yard reception by Evan Engram. After Wayne Gallman punched in a short touchdown run, the Giants allowed Bengals kick returner Brandon Wilson to take a kickoff 103 yards to the house, blowing past every New York defender. Sadly, those touchdowns were not a sign of things to come as the third and final touchdown of the game would not come until halfway through the fourth quarter. Both offenses mostly traded punts, with a handful of field goals mixed in. The big story out of this game was Daniel Jones hurting his hamstring and leaving the game, which only served to make both offenses more difficult to watch. In the end, the Giants kicked more field goals and were able to hold on to win 19-17, moving them into first place in the NFC East.
New York Giants
Quarterback
Daniel Jones: 16/27, 213 yards | 6 carries, 19 yards
Colt McCoy: 6/10, 31 yards | 5 carries, 7 yards
Daniel Jones looked pretty good today and continued his streak of not turning the ball over. He connected on a deep ball to Evan Engram and just missed a long touchdown to Darius Slayton. Jones looked calm in the pocket and was accurate without the pressure to bother him. Unfortunately, he tweaked his hamstring and left the game. He did return for two snaps, but was clearly limping after a handoff and then grabbed at his hamstring after throwing a pass. It was clear he still wasn’t right, and at that point, he left the game and did not return.
The initial belief on the hamstring injury to Daniel Jones is that it's "pretty bad" and could force him to miss some time, per source. More tests Monday to determine the full extent of the injury.https://t.co/16gMVvZTzV
— Jordan Raanan (@JordanRaanan) November 29, 2020
It is difficult to know right now if Jones made the injury worse trying to play on it or if he simply gave it a try and realized he could not play through it. Either way, Colt McCoy came in and looked fine. The offense definitely lost the element that Jones provides with his legs, but McCoy looked capable of managing the offense. McCoy made one really bad throw that should have been intercepted but otherwise was good enough to close out the win. The Bengals’ defense looked pretty bad so it remains to be seen if McCoy can manage games against better defenses, but he should at least be enough to maintain the fantasy value of the New York skill positions.
Running Backs
Wayne Gallman: 24 carries, 94 yards, 1 TD | 5 targets, 3 receptions, -3 yards
Dion Lewis: 2 carries, 10 yards | 3 targets, 1 reception, 7 yards
Alfred Morris: 4 carries, 8 yards
Wayne Gallman was the focal point of the New York offense, especially after Jones left with an injury. On their first scoring drive, the Giants handed the ball to Gallman four straight plays in a goal-to-go situation. He did not break any huge plays, but he was consistently able to get three or four yards and keep the offense on schedule. His receiving numbers took a hit on a poorly executed screen play where he lost a lot of yards and had Jones not missed him on a route to the flat, Gallman could have had a long reception. Dion Lewis was also the victim of a missed big play, as Colt McCoy could not get Lewis the ball when Lewis was all alone with no one between him and the end zone. Alfred Morris handled a few carries and looked like you would expect him to at this stage of his career. Gallman will likely be asked to handle a bigger workload if Jones does miss significant time and if today is any indication he looks ready to turn that into a strong finish to his fantasy production for the season.
Wide Receivers/Tight Ends
Sterling Shepard: 8 targets, 7 receptions, 64 yards
Golden Tate: 9 targets, 4 receptions, 36 yards | 0/1
Darius Slayton: 2 targets, 0 receptions
Evan Engram: 9 targets, 6 receptions, 129 yards, 1 fumble
Evan Engram caught two long passes, including this one where he was tackled just short of the end zone.
https://twitter.com/Giants/status/1333110649338126340
A little disappointing to see him get caught from behind, but encouraging to see him and Jones connecting deep. Engram did lose a fumble later in the game, but he more than made up for it by providing the two biggest plays of the game for the Giants. Darius Slayton just came up short on what would have been a long touchdown reception. The ball was maybe a little overthrown, but Slayton probably should have come down with it as the ball hit his outstretched fingers. Sterling Shepard and Golden Tate did most of their work underneath, with Tate, in particular, looking to be Colt McCoy’s go-to option down the stretch. Shepard had a few nice timing routes with Jones but did not seem to be as in-synch with McCoy. Tate got to attempt a pass today on a trick play, but as the Bengals were pressuring him he opted to just throw the ball away.
Cincinnati Bengals
Quarterback
Brandon Allen: 17/29, 136 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT, 2 sacks, 1 fumble lost | 4 carries, 7 yards
Brandon Allen probably tried his best, but this offense just does not look good at all without Joe Burrow. Allen missed several throws and was fortunate to only turn the ball over twice. His offensive line did not do him any favors, but even with a clean pocket he looked inaccurate and appeared to lock in on his first read. On the plays where he did appear to go through progressions, he looked a little indecisive. One of his biggest positive plays was simply drawing a roughing the passer penalty. Hopefully, another week of practice helps him improve because otherwise, it will be hard to trust any Bengals going forward.
Running Backs
Giovani Bernard: 8 carries, 32 yards | 3 targets, 2 receptions, 17 yards
Trayveon Williams: 1 carry, -2 yards | 1 target, 1 reception, 13 yards
The Bengals abandoned the run pretty early today, and it was hard to blame them for that with how little push their offensive line was getting. Still, it was surprising to see them not try to lean on their running backs a little more with how bad their downfield passing looked. Giovani Bernard handled almost all of the backfield work despite being questionable to play earlier in the week. He looked fine given the running lanes he had to work with. He also took a short pass for a 16-yard gain, which may not seem like much but it was one of the biggest plays of the game for the Bengals.
Wide Receivers/Tight Ends
Tee Higgins: 5 targets, 5 receptions, 44 yards, 1 TD
Tyler Boyd: 6 targets, 3 receptions, 15 yards
A.J. Green: 3 targets
Drew Sample: 5 targets, 4 receptions, 40 yards
Tee Higgins led the way for the Bengals’ receivers today and scored the team’s only offensive touchdown when he caught a short pass on a route over the middle of the endzone.
Fifth TD on the season for @teehiggins5!
📺: #NYGvsCIN on FOX pic.twitter.com/qP1vMPsKnG
— Cincinnati Bengals (@Bengals) November 29, 2020
Allen seemed to like throwing to Higgins, and their connection was the strongest for the Cincinnati offense today. He’s the only receiver I feel alright about from the Bengals after this game. Tyler Boyd caught a few short passes but was unable to get anything going downfield or to make anyone miss on his underneath receptions. A.J. Green just missed what would have been an impressive reception down the sideline that would have been good for at least 20 yards. He finished the day scoreless and is probably unplayable in fantasy leagues going forward. Drew Sample had a nice reception of a check-and-release play where he sold himself as a blocker before breaking into his route. He did not appear to be much of a presence when he did stay in to block, so he’ll probably continue to be decently involved as a receiver.
— Dan Adams (@dadams0323 on Twitter)