Carlos Dunlap had his best game of the season. So did Rey Maualuga. Pat Sims made an immediate impact in his first action in nearly a year. And rookie Dre Kirkpatrick represented himself well with his first snaps from scrimmage.

It all added up to the kind of performance Cincinnati Bengals defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer had hoped to see a lot more of this season.

“I wish we would have done that in some of these other games,” Zimmer said Monday, the day after the Bengals upset the New York Giants 31-13 at Paul Brown Stadium with four sacks and a season-high four turnovers.

“It’s what I expected all year long,” Zimmer added. “I expected us to be like this.”

But they haven’t been, not even when they were winning in September.

During the three consecutive victories against Cleveland, Washington and Jacksonville, the Bengals allowed an average of 344 yards and 22.7 points per game. And during the four-game losing streak that followed, they surrendered 349 ypg and 26.5 ppg.

But against the Giants, the defensive line kept constant pressure on Eli Manning, while the linebackers and secondary shadowed the receivers across the field.

“The D line just kept being persistent and trying to get after (Manning),” safety Chris Crocker said. “Eli had to hold the ball a couple of times, and they were there. So it was really a collective effort. It went hand in hand, and we got a win out of it.”

Cornerback Leon Hall shut down Victor Cruz, holding one of the league’s most explosive receivers to three catches for 26 yards.

Maualuga recorded a season-high 11 solo tackles and led the defense with 13 stops.

Adam Jones had three passes defensed, a forced fumble and, with five tackles, was part of a secondary that limited New York receivers to 1 yard or less on 18 of their 29 receptions.

And Dunlap, who was on the field for a season-high 51 snaps, had 1.5 sacks and fumble recovery to go along with five tackles.

“He played a lot better,” Zimmer said of Dunlap. “We changed a little bit of what he was doing. He had success in practice with it and it carried over into the game.”

Wallace Gilberry (one), Robert Geathers (one) and Domata Peko (one half) also recorded sacks as the Bengals finished with eight quarterback hits against a Giants offensive line that entered the game having allowed the fewest sacks in the NFL with nine.

“We rushed this team good,” Zimmer said. “We probably rushed them better than I thought we would. We were giving them some different looks up front, trying to get the quarterback to hold the ball a little bit once in a while.”

The Bengals also intercepted Manning twice and Gilberry stripped him and recovered the ball on his sack as the defense allowed its fewest points in more than year, since a 34-12 win at Seattle on Oct. 30, 2011.

“Everything was about keeping the faith in ourselves,” Maualuga said. “From the coaches to the players and everyone playing at the best of their abilities, I think we executed and we flustered Manning in certain situations. We got the ball out, and we got some sacks. It all came down to us having some fun.”

Now it comes down to sustaining it.

“It’s only one game,” Zimmer said. “We played decent. The intensity level has picked up the last couple of weeks, and the urgency. The cohesiveness has picked up the last two weeks. We just have to keep it going. If we want to do anything, we have to.”