The Cincinnati Bengals finally snapped an extremely embarrassing streak with their 17-7 victory over the New York Giants.
Bengals end 76-game streak of allowing double-digit points
Prior to the game against the Giants, opponents had scored double-digit points against Cincinnati in an astonishing 76 consecutive games. Unsurprisingly, that was the longest streak in the league, but it's now snapped.
The Cincinnati Bengals defense allowed single digits for the first time in 76 games 😲 pic.twitter.com/Ed5TuivfPj
— DraftKings (@DraftKings) October 14, 2024
For perspective, Joe Burrow has played 58 regular season games as a member of the Bengals. So, Cincinnati has never held an opponent under 10 points during Burrow's entire tenure with the team prior to the win over the Giants.
The Giants had a couple of opportunities to crack double digits in the game, but kicker Greg Joseph missed both of his field goal attempts.
Obviously, it's good news that the streak was snapped, and it was great that the defense was able to respond after an underwhelming start to the season. It was the most complete performance of the season from the defense, and it came at just the right time, as the offense wasn't as productive as it has been in recent weeks.
But, while the defense did well not to allow New York to put up points, it's worth pointing out that the Giants did actually out-gain the Bengals 309-304. The Giants were also without star rookie receiver Malik Nabers and starting running back Devin Singletary. Had both of those guys been available, the outcome of the contest could have been very different.
Still though, it was an encouraging performance from the defense. Now, the next step for Cincinnati is getting the offense and defense to both play up to their potential at the same time. So far this season, when the offense has played well, the defense has struggled and vice versa. If they can put it all together at the same time, the season could still end up being a successful one for Cincinnati.