Giants Outlast Fiesty Bengals

GIANTS 26

BENGALS 23

OVERTIME

This was supposed to be another lay up for the Giants; instead, the G-Men are lucky to be 3-0 at this moment. The Bengals came into this game and played crisp, mistake-free football and nearly beat the Giants in Giants Stadium, Sunday afternoon.

Carson Palmer, who was sacked six times by Giant defenders, two of which came from Fred Robbins, still found ways to pick apart the Giants' secondary, especially late in the game. With New York up 16-13 in the fourth quarter, the Bengals started their comeback. On a first and five, Chris Perry rushed for six yards to give Cincy a new first down at their own forty. On the next play, Palmer hit Chad Johnson for a seven yard completion. Palmer then hit T.J. Houshmandzadeh for five more, and back to Johnson for 16 yards.

Now at the Giants 17, Palmer hit Houshmandzadeh again for the touchdown and a stunning 20-16 lead.

But the Giants came back. Eli Manning, who before this drive had a rather underwelming ballgame, hit Steve Smith for 15 yards on a huge third down conversion. Derek Ward took matters into his own hands rushing for 14 yards to put the ball at the Bengals 17 yard line. Three plays later, Manning hit Kevin Boss for the touchdown. Much had been made about Boss's lack of receptions so far this year. Today, he had two, including the biggest of the game.

Still, the Bengals would not go away. Palmer drove the Bengals all the way down the field in the final 1:30. In fact, Palmer even hit Antohy Chatam at the Giant 14. Chatam spun out of a tackle and nearly scored the winning touchdown, but he was finally brought down at the two yard line. The Bengals were running out of time at this point and were forced to settle for a field goal to send the game into OT.

After both teams exchanged unproductive drives, the Giants got the ball with another chance to win. Manning's biggest passes of the day came on this drive. He hit Plaxico Burress down the sideline for 28 yards, and then hit Amani Toomer for 31 yards to put the G-Men at the Bengal seven yard line. The Giants finally kicked the game winner to end a breathtaking afternoon of football.