Maybe it was the return of defensive tackles B.J. Hill and Sheldon Rankins. Or, the fact that Mike Hilton was back patrolling the slot for the Bengals. Whatever it was, the Cincinnati Bengals defense was back to playing at a level not seen around here for the past couple of years.
And it could not have come at a better time.
“Fortunately, we were able to lean on the defense today,” said quarterback Joe Burrow, whose offense could only manage 17 points against the Giants Sunday after putting up 35 points per game over their last three contests.