The Cincinnati Bengals aren't asking for style points. None were given on Sunday night.
The jokes about the Bengals never showing up in September aren't all that funny anymore, because it's mid-October and they still seem stuck in the mud. At least they got an ugly win. The defense made enough plays to support an offense that got surprisingly little going, and they managed a 17-7 victory over the New York Giants.
If you want to be optimistic, it was a good sign for the Bengals that their struggling defense played by far its best game of the season and led a win.