EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ _ After the Bengals' old-fashioned slugfest in a 17-7 victory over the Giants that resulted from a tenacious defensive performance at Met Life Stadium, defensive end Sam Hubbard greeted him as “BJ Hill.” revenge game”

But Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow simply called it “a game we really needed.”

“It was great to see the defense step up so much. They played great,” said Burrow, who said he played below his standards but better than his numbers, which spit out 19 of 28 for 208 yards.

After Burrow took a shot on a third-down incompletion late in the game with the Bengals up 10-7, he went to the medical tent to be checked for a concussion

“News for me: I felt good, I just lost my breath,” Burrow said.

But on the next third down, when Burrow needed 12 yards with the two-minute drill looming, he rolled left to avoid the incessant New York rush that dogged him all night. He threw a fierce whip across his body for 29 yards and completed a toe-tap to wide receiver Andrei Iosivas down the sideline.

Running back Chase Brown's 30-yard touchdown burst through the middle to seal the score with 1:52 left.

It was a picture of determination. To that point, Brown and running back Zack Moss had combined for 36 yards; less than Burrow's 47-yard scramble for a touchdown less than four minutes into the game

“It was a great change. Frank is an experienced coach and he saw something during the game,” said center Ted Karras, offensive line coach and running game coordinator Frank Pollack.

Pollack made the adjustment before this series. It was a zone concept where Chase basically hit one of the back inside gaps and it was a home run. Head coach Zac Taylor said it was a play they ran often during training camp and the season; but it wasn't in the game plan for Sunday.

Karras handled Dexter Lawrence, the Giants' two-time Pro Bowl tackle, so well that “I was unaffected by it,” Brown said

REDEMPTION PLUS: With the Bengals clinging to a 10-7 lead with 3:01 remaining, cornerback DJ Turner saved the day with fourth-and-2 from his 36, as he intercepted quarterback Daniel Jones' pass over the middle to the wide Receiver Darius Slayton made the save. It wasn't long before Turner was called out for interfering with Slayton in the end zone. One play later, the Giants scored their only touchdown, tying the game with 5:36 left in the third quarter

“I forgot. I don't remember it anymore. I forgot about it as soon as it happened,” Turner said. “It has to be the next game.”

The next piece turned out to be the biggest piece. The fourth time and two. The Giants tried fourth down the fifth time and failed for the second time

“A drag route,” Turner said. “It was a man-to-man duel and I knew I had to stay on him.”

It didn't take long for Chase Brown to find redemption. Try a game. The reason he got the ball at the Giants 30 is because he had ripped off a seven-yard run earlier in the game. But he fumbled and the ball slipped through several opposing hands before going out of bounds

Brown admitted he held the next one a little tighter.

“Sure, I thought about it a little bit,” Brown said on a very strange night when he was passed 55-53 yards by Burrow. “I thought, ‘Answer, respond, respond. Stay calm.”

KING OF THE HILL: Initially, BJ Hill was named playing captain for a return to the team where he spent his first three seasons. Then he went out and dominated them with seven tackles and two hits against his old friend Daniel Jones

And how big were his two deviations? One flew in the air to his best friend Germaine Pratt at the Giants 5 for a pick. The other came on third down, setting up a missed field goal

“I blocked it with my face;” Hill said; “Two guys on top of me, I was just trying to get my hand between them.

“A little emotional at the beginning. I have had the best years. It's been four years since I've been back. A special place here in my heart. You gave me a chance. You chose me. And coming in here to get a win means a lot to me.”