East Rutherford: New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning threw three touchdown passes, including the game-winner to receiver Sterling Shepard as the Giants toppled the Cincinnati Bengals 21-20 at MetLife Stadium on Monday.
“When we moved the ball and got in the red zone we scored touchdowns and that is what you have to do in this league,” Manning said. “We finished strong and got the win.”
The Giants held a 14-10 halftime lead, but the Bengals started quickly by taking advantage of their first possession when play resumed.
On the first play of the half, Alex Erickson broke free for an 84-yard kickoff return to give the Bengals first-and-10 on the Giants’ 13.
Two plays later — both runs by running back Jeremy Hill — and the Bengals were back on top of the Giants 17-14 thanks to Hill’s nine-yard touchdown run, the first of 10 unanswered points by the Bengals.
Then Erickson did it again a few minutes later, this time with an 18-yard punt return that gave his team excellent starting field position.
The Bengals increased their lead to 20-14 on kicker Mike Nugent’s 38-yard field goal.
The Giants got on the board again at the beginning of the fourth quarter when Manning connected with Shepard for a three-yard touchdown pass on fourth down. That score put New York back on top 21-20.
“Shepard ran a great route and got a big time play right there,” Manning said.
With the win, the Giants improved to 6-3 on the season and retained their hold on second place in the NFC East. They’ll close out their three-game home stand next week against the Chicago Bears.
The Bengals return home to host the Buffalo Bills next week.
Meanwhile, Chicago Bears receiver Alshon Jeffery has been suspended for the NFL team’s next four games for violating the league’s performance-enhancing substances policy, the club announced on Monday.
Jeffery has caught 40 passes for 630 yards and a touchdown this season for the Bears, who are 2-7 after a 36-10 loss on Sunday at Tampa Bay. Jeffery made four catches for 47 yards in the defeat.
The suspension, for specific substances that were not revealed under the NFL’s contract with its players’ union, will sideline Jeffery for games on Sunday at the New York Giants, on November 27 at home against Tennessee, at home on December 4 against San Francisco and at Detroit on December 11.
Jeffery, a second round pick in the 2012 NFL Draft who was given the franchise designation this season to make him among the league’s top-paid receivers, would be eligible to return for a December 18 home game against Green Bay.
“We’re obviously very disappointed,” Bears coach John Fox said. “We’re disappointed. We know Alshon is embarrassed by it. Disappointed would be a good word for the rest of us. Overall, disappointing would be the word I would use.
“I look at it like a lot of things we’ve been through already. We will have to have somebody else step up. We’ll treat it like an injury moving forward.”
