It's one of those topics that needs to be revisited in times like these.

Even if there are no signs of a rupture, questions continue to arise to find out whether it could happen. Is the frustration growing? Are there signs of a divide?

The offense is to lose football. The defense plays winning football. It's a team with two different identities.

This isn't exactly new territory for the Giants. Strong defense and slack offense have often been standard for this franchise over the years. This season it is on display to such an extent that it seems almost impossible to stop tension from building in the building. The way the Giants lost 17-7 to the Bengals on Sunday night in another prime-time setback was all the evidence needed to establish that this was a split-personality operation.

That's why, immediately afterwards, head coach Brian Daboll repeated a version of “It starts with me.” He is the originator of this offensive and has taken over the management of the game on game days and evenings this season. He hasn't yet figured out how to get his team into the end zone with any degree of consistency.

In the first four games, Dabolls wide receiver Malik Nabers set every possible rookie record and the offense scored six points at the Vikings, 18 points at the Commanders, 21 points at the Browns and 15 points (on five field goals) at the Cowboys . Take Nabers and starting running back Devin Singletary, who came off the field with injuries in the last two games, and it was 29 points (23 on offense) for the Seahawks and the seven points for a Bengals defense that Allowing 29 points per game in their first five games before coming to MetLife Stadium looking like a dominant unit. After four solid – but unspectacular – outings in a row, Daniel Jones was as unsatisfactory as soggy oatmeal. He threw 41 passes, completed just 22, and his longest connections were just 15 yards. In addition, towards the end of the first quarter there was a bad memory of the old days.

Meanwhile, under new coordinator Shane Bowen's defense, the Giants have not allowed more than 21 points in any game – there was a pick-six interception return by the Vikings in the opening game. Loss No. 4 of the season was particularly galling for a defense that held off a Bengals offense that averaged 28 points to just 17, never played with a lead and only really gave up two damaging plays – Joe Burrow's 47-yard scoring run in the first quarter and Chase Brown's 30-yard scoring run with 1:52 remaining.

The Giants, with Azeez Ojulari starting in place of Kayvon Thibodeaux (on injured reserve after wrist surgery), sacked Burrow four times, increasing their NFL-leading sack production to 26. The Bengals were impressed.

“They lead the league in sacks,” Burrow said. “They are real and didn’t have any of their boys. They have good games (up front). They have good players. They make it difficult for us and their second division was to maintain coverage all day. It's a good defense.

“I usually make mistakes. I felt like I let the pressure get to me a little bit. In the second half I was able to settle in there and kind of find a rhythm, but in the first half I didn't feel like I was in the rhythm at all. I felt like I was getting happy feet in the bag. “It just didn’t feel like everything was going right.”

Bengals head coach Zac Taylor is typically capable of running a far more efficient offense than the one he orchestrated Sunday night.

“They (Giants) did a good job up front,” Taylor said. “They are putting pressure on you. You can win some singles games. They've really invested in this area and it shows. “They did a good job at the back and just provided variety.”

Will this discrepancy divide the room?

Members of the Giants defense said nothing to suggest a problem was brewing, but human nature is what it is. The defense can't be expected to be in the top five – the secondary is too young for such high status. It's difficult for players to talk about defeats when they know they deserve better. While Thibodeaux missed his first game of the season, Brian Burns played his best game yet for his new team, with one sack, eight tackles, two tackles for loss and two quarterback hits. He was a disruptive force. After so many lost years with the Panthers, things are becoming more and more similar for Burns with the Giants.

“Like I said, it's frustrating and there are more plays to be made and more things we can do to change the game,” Burns said. “If we want to be an elite defense and live up to what we say we are, then we have to make these plays.”

One of those plays that got away came with 1:58 left. The Giants were trailing 10-7 when linebacker Micah McFadden reached in and forced a fumble from Brown. The ball was right there on the right sideline, but safety Jason Pinnock couldn't secure it. The ball rolled out of bounds and the Giants' last chance was wasted. On the next play, Brown tore through a gaping hole in the defense for a 30-yard touchdown.

“That’s a ball we have to get,” Burns said. “It's that simple. We had the opportunity. “It was on the ground.”

Opportunity missed, but post cannot be rejected. The defense did enough to win. How long before the players on that side of the ball continue to be let down by their teammates on offense?

Here are some other takeaways from loss No. 4 for the Giants:

— It's scary how Jones presents himself to the NFL viewing community. Not only is he now 1-15 in primetime games in his career, he also hasn't thrown a touchdown pass in his last seven nationally televised night starts. He has 12 touchdown passes and 20 interceptions in prime time. Co-owner John Mara must petition the league to keep his team off the field after dark.

– A decision has to be made when it comes to not one but two elite wide receivers, and that's exactly what the Bengals have in Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. It's not enough to use these two players straight away unless a team has two elite cornerbacks, and that's not commonplace. What Bowen introduced was a design to prevent big plays whenever possible. Deonte Banks, the No. 1 cornerback, traveled with Higgins the entire game. Cor'Dale Flott stuck with Chase, with help from another cornerback or a safety.

“You tarnished me,” Chase said. “So it was a different kind of cloud.” I don't really know what kind of cloud it was. “I looked at it a little bit on the iPad, but it was cloudy.”

It worked. Higgins caught seven passes for 77 yards. Chase caught five passes for 72 yards. None of the receivers got a touchdown. They weren't completely closed, but they didn't ruin the game.

– Someone will pay Ojulari. Most likely it won't be the Giants, who have invested heavily in Burns and will have to consider whether they want to make a long-term investment in Thibodeaux. Ojulari couldn't stay healthy in 2022 or 2023 and the 2021 second-round pick will come off the bench this season. He made his first start against the Bengals and came away with two sacks, four tackles, two tackles for loss and two quarterback hits. This is the last year of his contract and he is only 24 years old. He has 19 career sacks in 41 games (26 starts). He is a more skilled pure pass rusher than Thibodeaux. Guys who go after the opposing quarterback always get their money's worth.

– It’s time to stop trying to figure out why the Giants are screwing up Jalin Hyatt. For now, he should be viewed as a flawed wide receiver who hasn't been able to make the necessary adjustments to make it big at the next level. He was a productive college player at Tennessee, but the reason he entered the NFL draft was because he was a one-trick pony – all he could do fairly well was run fast and straight. That's why he fell to the third round and that punch can be seen on the field. With Nabers sidelined again due to a concussion, Hyatt had his most playing time of the season – 84 percent of snaps on offense (64 of 79). He ran and ran and didn't do much. He was the target of passes just four times, catching one for 6 yards. It was his first reception of the season. Hyatt is 23 years old and has talent to work with, but he's not helping the Giants at all right now.

– Trailing 17-7, the Giants got the ball back with 1:52 left and needed two points to tie or take the lead. Because of this, Daboll, facing second with 55 seconds left, decided to send Greg Joseph out to attempt a 45-yard field goal instead of taking two shots from the Cincinnati 27-yard line into the end zone .

“We have a situation that we have practiced,” said Daboll. “Go ahead and score the field goal. Get it back with a little more time. We needed two points. So, field goal and touchdown. We didn't want to waste any more time. We felt like we were going to go right up and shoot the field goal. Unfortunately I didn't make it.''

Yes. Joseph sent the kick wide left, just as he did earlier in the fourth quarter on a 47-yard attempt. If Joseph had taken the second kick, the Giants would have had to force an onside kick to get the ball back.