Nov 11, 2012; Cincinnati, OH, USA; New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning (10) lays on the field after being tackled by the Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Wallace Gilberry during the second half at Paul Brown Stadium. The Bengals defeated the Giants 31-13. Mandatory Credit: Frank Victores-US PRESSWIRE

Don’t let the Giants 129 rushing yards deceive you. Through three quarters, the Bengals’ front-7 dominated the Giants offensive line and prevented Ahmad Bradshaw and Andre Brown from breaking off the big runs that opponents have routinely gotten against the Bengals’ defense.

Entering the 4th-quarter, the Giants had a mere 54 yards on the ground, and with the Bengals holding a 31-6 lead, the Giants opted to keep running the ball, gaining 75 yards on 7 carries in the 4th. While it eventually led to their lone touchdown of the day, it was against a Bengals defense that had gone to a prevent look and was playing to prevent the deep passes. It’s as though the Giants conceded to defeat, and just wanted to end the game as quickly as possible.

The real story of the day came when Eli Manning dropped back to pass 46 times against a Bengals defensive line that was one of the NFL’s best, accounting for 27 QB-takedown on the year, and they notched four more against a New York offensive line that had allowed a league-low 9 sacks. The yalso got 8 QB-hits on Manning, and both of his interceptions were thrown with immense pressure in his face. The biggest culprit for this was defensive end Carlos Dunlap.

Nov 11, 2012; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Carlos Dunlap (96) and the New York Giants tight end Travis Beckum (47) go for a fumble during the second half at Paul Brown Stadium. The Bengals defeated the Giants 31-13. Mandatory Credit: Frank Victores-US PRESSWIRE

Dunlap entered today’s game with just one sack and 14 tackles. Against New York, he accounted for 1.5 sacks, 5 tackles, and a critical fumble recovery early in the third-quarter with the Giants in the redzone(see above photo). After entering the 2012 season with hopes of a breakout season and dreams of playing in Honolulu in the Pro Bowl, Dunlap had been the biggest disappointment of the year for the Bengals, but had a minor redemption game on Sunday, and hopefully can build off that great performance and parlay it into a dominant second-half of the 2012 season.

Nov 11, 2012; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton (14), left, shakes hands with New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning (10) following the game at Paul Brown Stadium. Cincinnati Bengals defeated New York Giants 31-13. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Weber-US PRESSWIRE

Going into today’s game versus the defending Super Bowl Champion New York Giants, the Bengals had suffered 10 consecutive losses to a Super Bowl-winning quarterback. Their last win against one was when they beat Pittsburgh’s Ben Roethlisberger in Week 10 in 2009 after they completed a season sweep of Pittsburgh en route to winning their last AFC North crown. The Bengals had a chance to end that streak today against two-time and reigning Super Bowl champion Eli Manning, and did just that, holding the younger Manning to just 29/46 passing for 215 yards and NO touchdowns while picking him off twice.

Despite losing two straight games, the Giants will almost certainly be in the playoffs this year in some fashion, meaning that no matter what happens the rest of the 2012 NFL season, the Bengals will end the year with at least one win over a playoff team,  something they couldn’t do last year when they did make the playoffs. While it sounds minor, it is one critical step that had to be taken before the Bengals could begin to ascend into the upper echelon of the NFL.

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Nov 11, 2012; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Cincinnati Bengals tight end Jermaine Gresham (84) celebrate with teammate after catching a ass for a touchdown against the New York Giants in the third quarter at Paul Brown Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Weber-US PRESSWIRE

After suffering through four weeks of disappointment, frustration, and painfully crushing defeats that left the Bengals at 3-5 with playoff hopes on life-support and a season on the brink of being labeled a waste, it was “put up” or “shut up” time for Cincinnati as they played host to the defending Super Bowl Champion New York Giants.

The Bengals came out and took control of this game from the opening kick-off, marching 79 yards in just 5 plays before Andy Dalton hit a wide-open A.J. Green for a 56-yard touchdown. After forcing the giants into a three-and-out, Adam Jones returned the punt 68 yards to the Giants 11-yard line, and the Bengals scored again on an Andrew Hawkins 11-yard pass from Dalton to take a 14-0 lead.

After stopping the Giants on their second possession, Brandon Tate fumbled the second punt of the game, but the Giants converted the turnover into just 3 points off a Lawrence Tynes field goal. The Bengals got those points back after a 15 play, 60-yard drive led to a Mike Nugent field goal to put Cincy up 17-3 lead.

To that point, the Giants had mustered just 63 yards of offense, but with 4:27 left in the first-half, Eli Manning led the Giants on their most productive drive of the first-half,  highlighted by the Giants going for it on 4th-and-6 from CIN 41 and getting 16-yd completion to Hakeem Nicks to the CIN-25 with 1:08 left in the half. The Bengals defense would stiffen and hold the Giants to a 31-yd field goal, and the score at halftime was 17-6.