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Giants (4-11) Chicago (5-10)
The Bears are coming off a 25-24 win over the
Seattle Seahawks. They were down by 10 points at halftime, and were trailing by
7 late in the fourth quarter. With about one minute left, the Bears scored a touchdown,
and rather than kick a point to tie for overtime, went for two, and made it for
the win.
On Sunday, the Giants took a 3-0 lead in their game with the Philadelphia
Eagles. The Giants then allowed the Eagles to score 34 points before they scored
again. The Giants finished up with a 34-10 loss. Chicago
Bears
The
Bears are in third place in the NFC North Division with a 5-10 record. They trail
the first place 12-3 Green Bay Packers and 7-8 Minnesota Vikings. There are two
games left to play, the next one with the Giants, and then the final game at Minnesota.
The Chicago Bears won a division title in 2010. After some tough years that included
finishing last in the division four straight years, in 2018 they brought in Matt
Nagy to run things. In Nagy's first year as head coach with the Bears, a 12-4
record had them winning the division tittle. They lost the wildcard playoff to
the Eagles by one point.
The Bears record was 8-8 in 2019, and the same in
2020, but that got them into the playoffs as a wildcard team, where they once
again were one and done. A big issue with the Bears has been quarterback play.
It goes back to the 2017 draft, where they passed on Patrick Mahomes and Deshaun
Watson for Mitchell Trubisky. Trubisky split time with Nick Foles last year, and
for 2021, Trubisky ended up with the Buffalo Bills, with the Bears moving up in
the draft to select Justin Fields. They also brought in Andy Dalton to be the
starting quarterback, with Foles dropping to the number three spot. Bears
Offense
Last week with Justin Fields and Andy Dalton unavailable to play, Nick Foles got
his first start of the season. Foles last minute 15-yard touchdown pass and two
point conversion toss had the Bears breaking a three game losing streak for their
fifth win of the season. Andy Dalton was sidelined with a hand injury last week,
and is now expected to start against the Giants. Dalton has thrown 6 touchdowns
and 6 interceptions on the year while completing 64 percent of this passes. The
running game got a boost this year with Fields taking off for 420 yards and 2
touchdowns, but it relies on David Montgomery, as it has in the past two years.
Montgomery has played in 11 games and leads the team with 183 carries for 713
yards and 5 touchdowns. It was tough to run on the Seattle Seahawks defense last
week, but Montgomery was the leading receiver with 7 catches for 61 yards. Allen
Robinson was the top receiver the past two years, but has missed a number of games.
Darnell Mooney currently leads the team with
62 receptions for 860 yards and 3 touchdowns. Tight end Cole Kmet is next with
83 catches for 539 yards. Bears
Defense
If
you go by last years results when Chicago faced off with the Giants in the second
game of the season, it won't matter much who the quarterback will be. Daniel Jones
threw no touchdowns, had one interception, and fumbled the ball away when taking
the first of his four sacks. Linebacker Khalil Mack recovered that fumble, and
had one of those sacks. Mack had surgery on his foot a few weeks back and won't
be in this game.
Linebacker Robert Quinn actually caused that fumble with
his sack on Jones, and he will be available. Currently, Quinn is ranked second
in the NFL with his 17 sacks, just a half sack behind Pittsburgh's T.J. Watt.
Overall the Bears rank fourth against the pass. Dealing with their quarterback
situation, the Giants will be looking to see what they can do with running backs
Saquon Barkley and Devontae Booker. The Bears
rank 25th against the run. Giants
Offense
It looks likely that Mike Glennon
and Jake Fromm will both make appearances in this game. Whichever quarterback
starts, he will find that his targets will be limited. Kenny Golladay will be
the most skilled wide receiver available. Kadarius Toney, John Ross, and Collin
Johnson are out with injuries. Darius Slayton is on the Reserve/COVID-19 list,
and the Giants will be hitting the practice squad for replacements. As we mentioned,
running backs Saquon Barkley and Devontae Booker
will be counted on to do their parts, but offensive line blocking might not be
at it's best.
Starting center Billy Price has been away from the team this
week, dealing with a family matter. Offensive tackle Matt Peart tore his ACL against
the Eagles last week, and Nate Solder, activated off the COVID list this week,
is questionable for this game. They also have to contend with the Bears overall
pass rush. With 42 sacks, the Bears are tied with the Rams for the fifth most
in the league. Giants
Defense
They had trouble containing David
Montgomery last year. In that game with Chicago, Montgomery was the top rusher
and receiver, and finished with 82 yards rushing on 16 carries, and 45 yards receiving
with one touchdown. The defense hung tough last week in the fist half against
the Eagles, but then things got out of hand. They will be dealing with quarterback
Andy Dalton this week, and have seen him before. Dalton was the Cowboys quarterback
in the 2020 season finale, which the Giants won 23-19.
Dalton broke his left
non-throwing hand a few games ago, has been on the Reserve/COVID-19 list, and
a groin injury kept him from playing in last Sunday's game in Seattle. Defensive
tackle Dexter Lawrence was added to the COVID-19 list, and is likely to miss this
game. Defensive back Julian Love was activated
from the Reserve/COVID-19 list and is expected to play. Overall
The Bears and the Giants have both been eliminated from playoff contention. One
point of interest is that In the offseason, the Bears
traded their 2022 No. 1 pick on draft day to the Giants to select quarterback
Justin Fields at the number 11 spot. As things stand now, the Giants would get
the fifth pick in the 2022 draft, and the one they own from Chicago would be the
eight. Winning this game for the Giants would position them better for the one
they traded for, but worse for the one they now have. NFC
East Games
Sunday at 1:00pm Giants (4-11)
at Bears (5-10).
Sunday at 1:00pm Eagles (8-7) at Washington (6-9)
Sunday
at 4:25pm Cardinals (10-5) at Cowboys (11-4).
The Eagles and Cowboys are the
NFC East teams favored to win in these games.
Check out.
Giants
On The Air. Listen to the Radio Broadcasts.
TeamGiants on Twitter.
Notes.
Giants
and Bears will play each other for the fourth consecutive season, and the third
in a row in Chicago. Giants have let teams
score points in the last two minutes of the first half in every game this season.
Next Game
Jan 9 Washington at Giants
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