4 letdowns in NY Giants 25-22 win vs Bengals in preseason action

The NY Giants scored the game-winning touchdown with 35 seconds remaining in a comeback victory, 25-22, over the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday night. A quarterback and wide receiver tandem of Davis Webb and Alex Bachman put the Bengals defense in a blender in the second half. Webb finished 22-of-27 with 204 passing yards and two touchdown passes, while Bachman had 11 catches for 122 yards and two touchdowns. Those two certainly were on the same page all night.

Despite the comeback victory for Brian Daboll and Co., the Giants still had some issues they need to clean up before the regular season starts. Here are four letdowns the NY Giants had in their 25-22 win vs. the Bengals in preseason action.

4. The play of the special teams 

A glaring issue the Giants have had in both preseason games is their special teams unit. Most importantly, kickoff and punt return coverage. The team let up a 73-yard kickoff return and in the process kicker Graham Gano had to run and try and make a tackle. When he dove, he got hit in the head and was ruled out to be evaluated for a concussion.

This is not a long-term injury and Gano will be back before the regular season begins. He should not have to be trying to make that tackle in the first place. Expect to see the Giants try and clean that up for their next preseason game.

Additionally, wide receiver CJ Board had a few nice kickoff returns early in the game. He would later return a ball and got hit hard and fumbled  near the Giants 15 yard-line, setting the Bengals up in great field position. In the process, Board was ruled out of the game with an injury to his ribs. You hear NFL reporters and analysts say it all the time; special teams is 1/3 of the game, and that’s 1/3 that the Giants need to clean up big time before the regular season begins.