'It's Frustrating!' Giants Let Defense Down vs. Bengals

The New York Giants welcomed the Cincinnati Bengals into MetLife Stadium on Sunday and pulled a performance straight from their stadium-sharing counterparts.

New York’s defense stifled Cincinnati, holding a star-studded offense to one touchdown in the first 58 minutes of game action – and even that was a fluke 47-yard scramble.

And yet, the offense managed just seven points, kicker Greg Joseph missed two field goals, and the Giants ultimately lost 17-7. The opportunity to embarrass a talented team on national television; gone. A chance at getting back to .500 followed Bengals back Chase Brown into the end zone.

Needless to say, a supreme defensive outing was lost to bad quarterbacking – a fate the New York faithful have grown used to.

Edge rusher Brian Burns spoke after the game about the nature of Sunday’s loss.

“Like I said, it's frustrating and there are more plays to be made and more things that we can do to change the game,” Burns said . “If we want to be an elite defense and live up to who we say we are, then we have to make those plays. When that ball came out [late in the fourth quarter], that is a ball that we have to get. It's as simple as that. We had the opportunity. It was on the ground.”

As Burns noted, New York had a chance to get the ball back and potentially win the game late in the fourth quarter, when Brown fumbled. Somehow, the ball squeaked under safety Jason Pinnock and evaded Giants defenders on its way out of bounds.

Brown rushed for 30 yards and a put-away score on the next play.

That was 15 yards longer than New York’s longest play of the day. New York’s offense was far less effective against a far less imposing defense in Week 6. The Bengals struggled all year against the run. Tyrone Tracy Jr. averaged 2.9 yards on the ground. Quarterback Daniel Jones continued his inconsistency, falling back down to earth and crash landing the Giants’ chances.

Simply put, a better quarterback makes good on the effort his defense gave him.

“It's just the details; we have to get back to the drawing board to see exactly what we can do, but there are still plays to be made,” Burns said.”I said the fumble because that was the opportunity that we wanted.”

Related: WATCH: Bad Daniel Jones Might Be Back

Burns logged a sack in the win. Edge rusher Azeez Ojulari found two in the absence of Kayvon Thibodeaux. Defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence continued his dominance.

None of it mattered, because this offense once again looked rudderless on national television.

New York will hope to bounce back against the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 7.