Giants win over the Bears 20-12

"The Giants were wearing their classic blue uniforms on a cool windy day at MetLife Stadium. The game didn't start out any way you would like, with the Giants going three-and-out, followed up by the Bears moving the ball well and scoring first with a field goal. Things looked much better the next time the Giants had the ball. Daniel Jones completed two passes and Saquon Barkley had two nice runs, and soon the ball was at the Bears 21-yard line. On this snap, Jones kept the ball and ran it in for a touchdown.
The Bears started off next with a big 56-yard pass completion from Justin Fields to Darnell Mooney that put them in field goal range at the Giants 25-yard line. They got down to the 4-yard line a few plays later, and settled for a field goal that still had the Giants up 7-6 near the end of the first quarter, Barkley and Jones each had first down runs on the next drive, but then things stalled.
Chicago was moving the ball well on their next turn, and it looked like an 8-yard sack by Tae Crowder would put an end to that. However, a 24-yard catch and run by Khalil Herbert got the Bears a first down at the Giants 27-yard line. This time, outside linebacker Azeez Ojulari came up with a sack fumble on Fields, and Kavyon Thibodeaux recovered the ball for the Giants. Barkley got the crowd excited starting things off with a 29-yard run. Then Jones kept things going with a short pass to tight end Tanner Hudson that went for 18 yards.
A few plays later on a 3rd-and-9 at the Bears 27-yard line, Barkley looked stopped after catching a short pass, but he broke the tackle, and with Jones blocking, got the ball down to the Bears 12-yard line. Two plays later, Jones ran the ball 8 yards and scored on his second touchdown run of the game. The defense then held the Bears to their first 3-and-out of the game, thanks to a challenge by head coach Brian Daboll, and a sack by Dexter Lawrence.
Things were really looking up the way things were going for the Giants until the punt return was fumbled by Richie James, giving the Bears great field position. The Giants had just blown an opportunity to control the ball, and maybe add to the score with about four minutes left in the half. Instead, the second quarter ended with the Bears adding one more field goal, and the Giants had a 14-9 lead.
The Bears started off the 3rd quarter with another field goal, and the Giants held a slim 14-12 lead. After both teams punted, Jones got things going on his next drive off with a 19 yard run. Then he threw a 40-yard pass to Darius Slayton who was interfered with, and the penalty was enforced. Unfortunately, Jones next took a big 11 yard sack, and before long Graham Gano came in and kicked his first field goal of the day, extending the Giants lead to 5 points.
The defense got the Bears 3-and-out, and suddenly we saw Tyrod Taylor on the field instead of Jones. Taylor handed off to Barkley twice, and then ran 13 yards for a first down. Next Taylor was throwing way downfield, and his pass to Slayton was intercepted. Why call a big play for a backup quarterback suddenly coming off the bench? The defense once again had the Bears 3-and-out, and I was hoping the Giants weren't going to blow this game when the offense took the field.
Taylor was in command, handling things very well, even running for another first down. A few plays later though, Taylor was doing that again, and was injured while making the first down. Jones was suddenly back on the field in the wide receiver position, and the snaps went straight to Barkley for a few plays. The drive ended with Gano kicking a 43-yard field goal to give the Giants a more comfortable 20-12 lead. The Bears got the ball back with five and a half minutes left in the game, and after making one first down, were forced to punt.
The next Giants drive was a 3-and-out, with Barkley running the ball to kill time. The Giants punted, and then recovered the ball when it was fumbled by the Bears returner with just over two minutes left. This Giants drive was all Barkley again until Gano came out to attempt a 37 yard field goal to really put the game away for good. When Gano's kick was missed, the Bears had just 16 seconds and a slim chance for a tie. The last play of the game was like something from an old Keystone Cops comedy film, with laterals and fumbles all across the field until the Giants made a tackle and secured the ball. The Giants made it exciting to the very end."

"We're always looking to see more from the Giants offense, and today we got more, at least in the first half of this game. The Giants had scored just one touchdown in each of the last two games against the Panthers, and Cowboys. The Giants started off today with two touchdowns in the first half, but they couldn't keep it going, settling for two field goals in the next two quarters.
Some of the problems for the Giants on offense has been the lack of capable wide receivers on the field. In the first half, Daniel Jones threw only 10 passes, and completed 6 of them for 61 yards. Tight end Daniel Bellinger caught 3 for 23 yards, and Tanner Hudson caught 1 for 18 yards. Saquon Barkley had one catch for 15 yards, and the only wide receiver in the mix was David Sills with a 5 yard catch.
It's surprising that tight ends Bellinger and Hudson did not catch a single pass after that, but their meager numbers stood up to have them as the Giants top receivers for this game. The Giants completed just 3 more passes over the course of the second half. Jones hit Barkley for 1 yard, and Richie James for 9 yards. Tyrod Taylor came in when Jones was injured, and completed one pass to Darius Slayton for 11 yards. The game total of 16 passes adds up to 9 completions for 82 yards.
Yes, shake your head, the Giants actually did win this game, and they did it on the ground. Barkley carried the ball 31 times for 147 yards. Jones ran 6 times for 68 yards and 2 touchdowns. Taylor took off 3 times for 30 yards, and Matt Breida had 3 carries for 18 yards. The combined effort was 44 carries for 262 yards and 2 touchdowns.
The Giants won the game, and the big concern will be the status of both their their quarterbacks. Jones sustained an ankle injury, and Taylor suffered a concussion The Giants depth chart currently shows no third string quarterback on the roster, but Davis Webb is on the practice squad, and likely will be elevated to the active roster for the game in London next week.
The other issue they face is that not only is Sterling Shepard out for the year, but Kenny Golladay was hurt today. They were already without Wan'Dale Robinson (knee) and Kadarius Toney (hamstring).
It would have been helpful to have had Toney on the field today for his quarterback skills. If available he could be a big asset next week The Giants sure have a lot to figure out before they head off to their game in London with the Green Bay Packers."

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