Bengals HC challenges defense after bounce-back performance on 'SNF'

Through the first five weeks of the season, the Cincinnati Bengals defense was practically nonexistent, ranking near the bottom of the league in several categories.

In fact, the Bengals gave up the second-most points (145) in the NFL through that span.

However, that was not the case in Week 6 when Cincinnati defeated the New York Giants 17-7 on "Sunday Night Football. "The Bengals shutout the Giants in the first half and allowed just one score in the second.

It was a much-needed bounce-back performance by the Bengals, who still have Super Bowl aspirations despite their slow start. Now head coach Zac Taylor wants to see his team continue stacking similar performances.

"What I see every single day of the week – just a resilient group that goes about it the right way, believes in each other, believes in what we're doing," Taylor said, via Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk. "And that's what I expect to see from those guys. And this was a great way – on "Sunday Night Football," in front of the world – for them to show who they are because that's what we see every day, and that's the blueprint."

If Cincinnati's defense has finally turned a corner, it may be enough to salvage its season. The Bengals are now 2-4 and in third place in the AFC North with a favorable matchup against the Cleveland Browns (1-5) in Week 7.

The Browns offense is averaging the fewest total yards per game (240.2) and third-fewest points per game (15.8) in the league as quarterback Deshaun Watson continues to struggle.

Following Cleveland's fourth straight loss in Week 6, head coach Kevin Stefanski said he's sticking with Watson.

That's great news for Cincinnati as it looks to get back in the win column this week and continue digging itself out of the early-season hole it's in.