Maybe it was the return of defensive tackles BJ Hill and Sheldon Rankins. Or the fact that Mike Hilton was back patrolling the field for the Bengals. Whatever it was, the Cincinnati Bengals defense was playing at a level not seen here in recent years.

And it couldn't have come at a better time.

“Luckily we were able to lean on the defense today,” said quarterback Joe Burrow, whose offense managed just 17 points against the Giants on Sunday after putting up 35 points per game over the last three games. “It was great to see them improve so much. They needed that. We needed that.”

Hill, who was drafted by the Giants in 2018 and later traded to the Bengals before the 2021 season, came home with a vengeance, posting seven tackles and two deflected passes that stopped drives and resulted in no points. He also managed to hit Giants quarterback Daniel Jones twice, one of which resulted in an interception by Germaine Pratt.

Hilton, who led an all-player meeting a few days before the game, posted five tackles, one pass defense and added a quarterback hit. Rankins, still not back to full strength, added a few tackles and made his presence known in other ways as the Bengals' defense became so stout that they allowed their fewest points in five years.

“It’s like I told people earlier this week,” Pratt said. “When our D-linemen show up and now that they're healthy, they put themselves on display today. It starts with the D line. What defense is good without key defensive linemen on the field?”

Sam Hubbard, who managed four tackles and a pass defense of his own and helped anchor a run defense that held New York running backs to 63 yards on 20 carries, agreed.

“It’s come a long way,” Hubbard said. “I was really happy to see (Hill) make those plays. He does things right. So reliable. Works so hard. He deserves an evening like this. The performance we put on tonight shows that we have the right people. Just a great unit finally united… You don't realize how many bodies we've destroyed until everyone's back. But we were really thin there for a while.”

And Cincinnati's much-maligned defensive backfield held Jones to 22 completions on 41 attempts for 205 yards (an average of just five yards per completion) and one interception, for an overall rating of just 57.5, his lowest since a season-opening loss to the Vikings.

“I’m really proud of the way the defense played,” head coach Zac Taylor said. “The players, the coaches, the way they fought all week and put in such a performance was special.”

Maybe things are finally starting to move in the right direction.