Daniel Jones, the Giants offense wasted countless opportunities in the loss to the Bengals

The Giants had more than enough chances to really add some momentum to their season.

They had plenty of opportunities to finally win a game in prime time.

For the Giants, it was all out there and they couldn’t understand it.

Once again they failed to score enough points to secure a win.

A touchdown isn’t enough in the NFL, not even when the defense made all sorts of plays and harassed quarterback Joe Burrow for much of Sunday night’s game.

In the end, the Giants ran out of time and found a way to lose, falling to the Bengals 17-7 to continue their ineptitude at MetLife Stadium.

Daniel Jones – now 1:15 in his career under the lights – threw a brutal interception in the first quarter and kicker Greg Joseph missed a potential game-winning 47-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter.

The Giants ultimately were unable to overcome these mistakes.

Trailing 10-7, they had the ball and were ahead, but Jones’ fourth pass to Darius Slayton was deflected by DJ Turner with 3:01 to play.

The Giants had a chance to get the ball back, but Burrow hit Andrei Iosivas for 29 yards on third-and-12.

The Giants had another chance to get the ball back when Micah McFadden reached in and forced a Chase Brown fumble, but Jason Pinnock was unable to pounce on the loose ball.

There are only so many chances a team gets.

Brown ran 30 yards with 1:52 left to play for the game-winning touchdown.

The Bengals (2-4) saved their season with the win.

Once again, the Giants perform the dance of one step forward and one step back that ultimately gets them nowhere.

This was the third time this season that they had a chance to make it two wins in a row, but failed to do so.

The Giants haven’t won consecutive games since winning three straight in Weeks 11, 12 and 14 last season.

Instead of successfully entering the highly anticipated matchup with Saquon Barkley and the Eagles (3-2) in Week 7, the Giants (2-4) remain anchored in last place in the NFC East.

The division is wide open with the Commanders (4-2) and Cowboys (3-3) losing this weekend, but right now the Giants are looking at everyone else.

The Giants managed just 119 yards of total offense and scored no points in the first half. They were down 7-0 and appeared to be dead in the water in terms of their ability to get anywhere near the end zone.

Their first series of the third quarter ended in a three-pointer and they were desperately hoping for something to happen when they took over at the 21-yard line early in the third quarter and got the ball back after Bobby Okereke forced a fumble to Zack Moss, the was recovered by McFadden.

What followed was a hard-hitting 16-play drive that featured two fourth-down pickups – both by rookie running back Tyrone Tracy Jr. – and an 18-yard pass interference penalty in the end zone against Turner against Slayton.

Tracy collected the ball from one yard out and with 5:48 left in the third quarter the Giants finally had their first points.

Burrow hit Ja’Marr Chase for 33 yards and hit Cor’Dale Flott on a Bengals drive that reached the Giants’ 1-yard line.

A holding penalty and a sack by Dexter Lawrence forced the Bengals to settle for an Evan McPherson field goal, ending a 10-7 Giants deficit.

The Giants had a chance to tie the game, but Joseph failed a 47-yard field goal attempt wide left with 10:27 left.

With 51 seconds left, he missed another 47-yarder at left goal.

The Bengals won the coin toss and, unlike most teams these days, took the ball instead of waiting until the second half.

Obviously, head coach Zac Taylor wanted to set the tone early by getting Burrow on the field first.

It turned out to be a prescient move.

Burrow killed the giants not with his arm, but with his legs. He picked up a first down with an 11-yard scramble and then made the Giants pay.

A sack by Brian Burns put the Bengals in a third-and-18 situation, but Burrow got out. He ever did. Burrow spotted nothing but green on the right side of the field and made his way.

There was no one to stop him and he sprinted 47 yards, jumped to the pylon for a touchdown, and made it 7-0. Burrow isn’t exactly known for his legs – he reached the peak of his career by rushing in a run in a game.

The Giants tried to respond. They got four first downs and Jones got into a temporary rhythm — until the bad DJ showed up.

He was pressured by former Giants defensive lineman BJ Hill and foolishly threw the ball while backpedaling, with Hill in his face.

The ball floated over the middle and never got close to its intended target, rookie tight end Theo Johnson. Linebacker Germaine Pratt made the easy interception.

It was the kind of ill-advised play that had kept Jones out of his game for much of this season, but it came at a bad time.