EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- The Cincinnati Bengals' 2016 season can be summed up by a series of plays that occurred at the end of the first half against the New York Giants on Monday night.

The Giants had just scored to take a 14-10 lead. The Bengals had 1:11 remaining in the half, a timeout left and one of the league's best deep threats in wide receiver A.J. Green. But instead of going with an up-tempo drive to counter the Giants' attack, they called a running play for 2 yards (that took 31 seconds off the clock), threw three short passes to run the clock down to three seconds, then attempted a Hail Mary to end the half.

For a team that could have used the points in a game that had turned into a defensive battle, it showed a startling lack of aggression.

Then in the fourth quarter, the Giants scored the go-ahead touchdown in a 21-20 win -- by going for it on fourth-and-3.

Andy Dalton and the Bengals had opportunities against the Giants on Monday Night Football but came up one point short. Michael Reaves/Getty Images

It has been the mark of a season that has been mired in mediocrity. The Bengals (3-5-1) have lacked a killer instinct to put teams away.

It's no wonder ESPN analyst Jon Gruden said the Bengals looked like they were still on their bye week just minutes into the game.

The Bengals had several plays that should have been huge momentum shifts. Defensive tackle Geno Atkins handed the Bengals position at midfield after sacking Eli Manning for a loss of 11 yards on fourth down. The Bengals went three-and-out.

On the next series, Bengals cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick intercepted Manning at the Giants 21-yard line. The Bengals had to settle for a field goal.

The only time the Bengals took advantage of such a play occurred in the second quarter, when rookie Alex Erickson ran the kickoff back 62 yards and Jeremy Hill scored a 9-yard touchdown just two plays later to put Cincinnati up 17-14.

Even a promising new-look offense that featured some unique plays to start Monday's contest ended with a scene that has become familiar to Bengals fans: On Cincinnati's final offensive series, quarterback Andy Dalton was sacked twice in a row.

The Bengals had every chance to make up ground in an underachieving AFC North division on Monday night, but they just couldn't sustain any sort of momentum to move forward.