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Defensive end Carlos Dunlap makes a play for the Bengals Sunday against
the Giants.
The Bengals snapped a three game losing streak with a 31-13
win over New York. Photo
by bengals.com
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Bengals
cut Giants down to size
Cincy breaks losing
streak
bengals.com
CINCINNATI- It was a Big and Tall Man's game all the way, symbolized by
the ball 327-pound Bengals defensive tackle Pat Sims yanked from the
rack during his first game in 350 days.
Sims, a run specialist, plucked it out of the air for his first NFL
interception as linemates Geno Atkins and Michael Johnson harassed
Super Bowl MVP Eli Manning in what evolved into a stunningly common
occurrence Sunday as the Bengals ambushed the Giants with dominating
play in both trenches in the 31-13 victory at Paul Brown Stadium.
"It's a huge win for us. A huge game for us. You couldn’t ask for
anything better. Just going out and dominating, rolling on all
cylinders," defensive tackle Domata Peko said as the Bengals savored
their first win in five games and six weeks. "We took it personal."
Meanwhile the Bengals offensive line stoned the Tucks, Osis and JPPs on
no sacks and gave quarterback Andy Dalton enough time on three third
downs to throw three red-zone touchdowns against the league's best
defensive line that was second best on this field Sunday.
Huge? It was not only a huge effort by left tackle Andrew Whitworth and
right tackle Andre Smith as they fended off at various times Jason
Pierre-Paul and Osi Umenyiora, but it was a big boost for the young
Bengals interior with center Trevor Robinson making his second NFL
start and the guards each making their ninth starts at their spots.
"At 4-5, we're definitely back in this thing," Whitworth said. "There's
a lot of football left to be played. There's still a lot of teams
bunched in there. We've played four games now where we've had it
clicking with big plays and five games we haven't. When the guys on
both lines are playing like this, this is what you're going to get."
What the Bengals hope they get is a booster shot of swag for the final
seven games. During the week, Peko said head coach Marvin Lewis made
them aware of quotes from Broncos defensive end Elvis Dumervil.
"The Bengals are hell of a team, but it seemed like they don’t believe
in themselves," is the way Peko read it.
"We read that. This whole week we just trusted each other and tried to
build that confidence. It seems like we trusted each other today and
got the job done. After losing four in a row, it's kind of hard to
believe, but we stuck together. It's big confidence-booster. Now we've
got the ball rolling."
What you get is the belief that the Bengals think they can go on a run
in the next five games against teams with losing records and that
they're as good as back in the playoff chase even though there are six
clubs ahead of them in the AFC and they are tied in the next tier with
Miami and San Diego at 4-5.
"Why not? That's what we ask ourselves," said middle linebacker Rey
Maualuga. "Why can't we beat the defending Super Bowl champs? Why can't
we win from here on out? It's just something we have to answer within
ourselves. Treat this like a 1-0 start."
What you got was four sacks for the Bengals against a Giants offensive
line that had allowed eight all season. What you got was a 127.3 passer
rating from Dalton and touchdowns by four different receivers as the
defense generating the sixth most sacks in the NFL per pass didn't get
a sniff Sunday against a line that gave up five sacks last week. What
is widely believed to be the best group of down pass rushers in the NFL
couldn't get to Dalton on 30 pass attempts.
For this story and more, go to Cincinnati Bengals
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