It was only a matter of time before the Cincinnati Bengals’ offense came around. Carson Palmer had his first respectable game of the season, throwing for 286 yards and a touchdown, while WR T.J. Houshmandzadeh hauled in 12 catches for 146 yards and a touchdown. The effort went for naught though, as the defending champion Giants snuck out a 26-23 win in overtime.

It was over when …
John Carney kicked a 22-yard field goal in overtime.

Game ball
Amani Toomer made an acrobatic catch on Eli Manning’s third-down pass in overtime to help set up the winning field goal. Toomer caught the ball on his finger tips and was able to drag his feet inbounds to keep the drive moving.

Key stat
The Giants averaged 6 yards per attempt.

Noteworthy
There were six lead changes in the game. … Carson Palmer had 228 passing yards in the first two weeks. He finished with 286 passing yards. … The Giants are off to their best start since 2000, when they started 3-0 before eventually losing to the Ravens in the Super Bowl XXXV. … The Giants sacked Palmer six times.

The Bengals showed a lot of fight, but the Giants just kept swinging back. Manning and the G-Men offense look great and they face Seattle and Cleveland the next two weeks. New York could easily be 5-0 heading into its Week 6 BYE.

At least fantasy owners who have Cincinnati players can breath a sigh of relief. I’m sure head coach Marvin Lewis is real happy for you, too.