Giants receiver Victor Cruz out with ankle injury

Cruz suffered an ankle injury in Week 9 against the Philadelphia Eagles, and he did not practice at all week after that. You can watch the Bengals-Giants live stream on WatchESPN. NY averages less than 69 yards on the ground per game, which is awful, and they’re running for less than four yards per carry, which is the average in the NFL. On their fourth drive after the touchdown, Manning was picked off by Bengals cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick inside Giants territory.

The Bengals (3-4-1) aren’t as bad as their record looks. The Giants are 5-3, and have won three straight.

The two also faced each other last season when Jenkins was still with the Rams. They made a key stop after an interception deep in their own territory midway through the second quarter.

-Matt Forte, Jets, had 20 carries for 98 yards in New York’s 9-6 loss to Los Angeles. The Giants are tough against the run but they are coming off of a game in which they surrendered 100 rushing yards and two touchdowns to the Eagles. In four home games this season, Eli Manning has completed 68.9 percent of his passes for 1,378 yards, 8 TDs and 6 INTs as the Giants have gone 3-1. Despite their struggles this season though, Cincinnati is still in striking distance. Beckham will be an obvious focal point. If they steal the ball, the Bengals have the firepower to make the most of the ball, and quickly.

At wide receiver, A.J. Cincinnati quarterback Andy Dalton has had a quarterback rating of 100-plus in four of the last five games and his favorite target is National Football League receiving leader A.J. Green who has 59 catches.

The problem is that Dalton has just nine touchdown passes in eight games. Because if the Giants beat Cincinnati, they may be punching their ticket back to the tournament after four long years. After Sunday’s games, the Bengals rank 24th in the National Football League in overall defense, 24th in rushing and 20th in passing.

This is where Eifert comes in. Brett Jones started at LG in place of Justin Pugh (knee) but left after the first series with a calf injury. Eli Manning has thrown for 2,241 yards and 12 touchdowns this year, but he has little of a run game to work with.

-Johnny Hekker, Rams, had seven punts for 362 yards, including a 78-yarder, and four others inside the 20 in Los Angeles’ 9-6 win over NY. We can’t let him wreck the football game.

The Giants offense does hope to see a boost as rookie running back Paul Perkins gets more involved in the game plan. Spagnuolo admitted recently to bringing more pressure late in games and in the red zone.

Cincinnati will attempt to keep the momentum rolling on the ground tonight against a NY defense that has been tough on the run. There are several interesting storylines to this matchup that should make it worth watching. That being said, New York’s lack of balance on offense is well overdue to catch up with this team.

Sterling Shepard celebrates the Giants’ go-ahead touchdown after Ben McAdoo decides to go for it on fourth-and-goal from the three-yard line.

The rushing game has been awful on the road, and because of playing from behind, less effective. Beckham appeared on defense to defend a Hail Mary pass on the final play of the first half…

Written by Rob McVey, who is part of the Athlon Contributor Network.