Giants Down 9-7 at Half vs. Bengals, as Injuries Continue to Mount

Daniel Jones finished with an impressive showing.

The good news is the New York Giants, despite being down 9-7 at the half to the Cincinnati Bengals, got a solid showing from starting quarterback Daniel Jones and the offense.

The bad news is that the injury bug continues to strike as three key players left the game early due to injury.

First, the good. Jones, who has had an up-and-down training camp so far, played three series, finishing 14 of 16 for 116 yards and one interception. But that number is a tad deceiving as the one interception came on a decently thrown ball intended for rookie tight end Daniel Bellinger, who had the pass go off his hands and to the Bengals.

Jones benefitted from solid blocking by the Giants' banged-up offensive line that was missing starting center Jon Feliciano and starting left guard Shane Lemieux. On his final drive of the game, he threw eight completions in a row, that drive cumulating on a 2-yard touchdown run by Jashaun Corbin to give the Giants a 7-3 lead at the time. 

All three of the drives led by Jones crossed mid-field. The first one stalled when New York's running game failed to convert on a 4th-and-1, and the second ended on the Bellinger interception.

The bad news for the Giants is they must again hold their breath waiting for word on the impact made by the injury bug. The most significant concern is the right knee injury suffered by rookie edge rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux, who was blocked by Thaddeus Moss. Thibodeaux waved off a cart and seemed to move around decently enough on his own, but his evening ended. 

Kicker Graham Gano had to leave the game to be evaluated for a concussion. Gano is believed to have been injured when he attempted to make a tackle on the Bengals' 73-yard kickoff return in the second quarter by Chris Evans. 

Punter Jamie Gillan handled the kicking for Gano and Julian Love took Gillan's spot as the holder on place-kicks.

Wide receiver C.J. Board also had his night end early with a ribs injury on what's believed to have been his third kickoff return of the night. Board, who has been having a strong summer, didn't get any targets on offense. He finished with three kickoff returns for 61 yards. 

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