Three keys: How the Bengals beat the New York Giants

The Cincinnati Bengals (1-4) head to New Jersey to face the New York Giants (2-3) on “Sunday Night Football” as they look to turn around their season.

For the Bengals to win on the road, all three sides of the ball need to play well. The Bengals have yet to put together a game where their offense, defense and special teams are all executing at a high level.

Cincinnati has no more time to waste . If the Bengals want to be playing meaningful football games in December, they must start rattling off wins.

So, what do they need to do to beat the Giants? Let’s take a look.

Bengals must protect quarterback Joe Burrow against Giants

The Giants have the best defensive line the Bengals have seen yet so far this season. Defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence is one of the best players at his position and is off to a strong start. Lawrence is responsible for six of New York’s 22 total sacks. The Bengals have played really well on offense recently and a key reason for their performance is the play of the offensive line.

Cincinnati’s offensive line will see its biggest test so far in New Jersey. Center Ted Karras will deal with Lawrence more than anyone so the Bengals will need a good protection plan to provide him help.

“Dexter Lawrence is a huge, explosive, strong man that lines up on the center virtually 90% of the game, and so that presents challenges,” Bengals’ offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher said. “Ted's gonna do a great job, and we've got to do a great job of putting Ted in good position to handle a player of that caliber. The ends are both really good players, big, athletic, explosive, so that's the strength of the unit.”

The Bengals defense will need to tackle better against Giants

Through five games, the Bengals haven’t played well enough on defense. Coaches and players have said as much and for the team to turn around the season, Cincinnati’s defense must start playing better.

One of the biggest issues for the Bengals on defense has been tackling. From the defensive linemen to the cornerbacks, tackling hasn’t been up to standard. Daniel Jones, the quarterback for the Giants, is primarily a pocket passer. But, he has also shown ability to make plays with his feet.

The Giants are going to try to run the ball on the Bengals with Devin Singletary as their featured running back. Cincinnati currently ranks as one of the worst teams in the NFL against the run and until they fix it, teams will continue to attack them.

Safeties Geno Stone and Vonn Bell are two players who must start tackling better in the secondary.

Bengals must refuse to lose against the Giants

If the Bengals lose to the Giants on a nationally televised game and fall to 1-5 on the year, the season is over. This is a massive game for the Bengals to show who they really are as a team. The record is what it is and there’s no excuses for it. For the Bengals to turn around their season, getting a second win and closing the gap to 2-4 with a road victory could do wonders for the confidence in the locker room.

The Bengals entered this season with Super Bowl expectations and it’s time they start playing like it on Sunday night or it will be too late.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Three keys: How the Bengals beat the New York Giants