Bears and Giants Game Day Glance
Chicago Bears (2-1) at New York Giants (2-1)
Kickoff: Noon, Sunday, Metlife Stadium, East Rutherford, N.J.
TV: Fox (Joe Davis, Daryl Johnston, Pam Oliver)
Radio: WBBM AM-780, FM-105.9 (Jeff Joniak, Tom Thayer, Mark Grote)
Spanish Radio TUDN AM-1200, Latino Mix FM-93.5 (Omar Ramos, Miguel Esparza)
Streaming: fubo TV
The Betting Window
Latest Betting Line: Giants by 3 (Over/under 39 1/2). Money Line, Bears, bet $100 to win $130. Giants beat $154 to win $100. Most up to date betting info at SI.com sportsbook.
The Series: The 55th game in the series. The Bears lead all time 31-21-2. The teams played last year in the next-to-last game and the Bears won at Soldier Field 29-3. The Bears have won the last three games in the series but the home team has won seven straight times in this series. The inability of the Bears to win at the Giants is a recent development as they are 15-10-2 in road games against the Giants.
The Coaches: Bears coach Matt Eberflus is 2-1 in his first season. As an assistant, his teams owned a 9-6 record against the Giants. New York coach Brian Daboll is 2-1 in his first season as coach. The former Buffalo offensive coordinator was on the same staff in Cleveland with Eberflus in 2009-10.
Last Week: The Bears got a last-second 30-yard field goal from Cairo Santos following an interception and 18-yard return by Roquan Smith to beat Houston 23-20 at Soldier Field.
The Giants played on Monday Night Football and lost 23-16 to the Dallas Cowboys in New Jersey. Saquon Barkley had 81 yards rushing and Daniel Jones 79, and Jones completed 20 of 37 for 196 yards with an interception. The Cowboys ran for 176 yards on 30 carries.
The Teams:
- The Bears and Justin Fields have struggled in the passing game as Fields has a 50 passer rating with two touchdown throws to four interceptions. He has run for 99 yards. Running back David Montgomery has been sidelined by an ankle injury suffered early against Houston and Khalil Herbert ran last week for 157 yards and two TDs in Montgomery's place. The Bears continue struggling getting the ball to their main passing targets, Darnell Mooney (4 catches, 27 yards) and Cole Kmet (2 catches, 40 yards). The Bears defense has allowed no touchdowns in the second half this year. They are tied for third in the NFL in fewest first downs passing allowed.
- The Giants have running back Saquon Barkley back and healthy, second in the NFL in rushing. QB Daniel Jones has been sacked 13 times while the Giants own defense has three sacks and has not yet picked off a pass. The Giants lost leading receiver Sterling Shepard in the last game to a torn ACL.
Matching Up:
- The Bears are 32nd (last) in the NFL on offense, 32nd (last) in passing and second in rushing. On defense, the Bears rank 20th overall, 30th against the run and ninth against the pass. They are 20th in scoring and have allowed the 11th fewest points.
- The Giants are 21st on offense, 30th in passing and fourth in rushing. New York's defense is 16th overall, 10th against the pass and 25th against the run. New York is 18th in scoring and has allowed the 12th fewest points.
Injury Report
Bears: CB Jaylon Johnson (quad), RB David Montgomery (ankle) and S Dane Cruikshank are out. LB Matthew Adams (hamstring) and tight end Ryan Griffin (Achilles) are doubtful. K Cairo Santos (personal), WR Velus Jones Jr. (hamstring), DE Robert Quinn (illness) and LB Sterling Weatherford (ankle) are questionable.
Giants: DL Leonard Williams (knee), WR Kadarius Toney (hamstring), WR Wan'Dale Robinson (knee), DB Cor'Dale Flott (calf) and DB Nick McCloud (hamstring) are out.
Of Note: The Bears are one of three teams in the NFL (Denver, Cincinnati) not to allow a second-half touchdown. ... The Bears defense is tied for eighth in touchdown percentage allowed (.500). ... Only Cleveland has rushed for more yards than the Bears, by 12 yards. They have more rushing yards through Week 3 than any time since 1989. ... Robert Quinn has 6 1/2 sacks and six tackles for loss in his last six road games. ... The Giants have allowed 15.3 yards per seven punt returns. ... Barkley's lontest run was 68 yards. He had a 36-yarder TD last week.
Next Week: The Bears are at the Minnesota Vikings at noon Sunday, Oct. 9. The Giants go to London for an 8:30 a.m. (Central time) game against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, Oct. 9.
Key Individual Matchups
Bears C Sam Mustipher vs. Giants NT Dexter Lawrence
Lawrence has filled out beyond belief since Clemson at 6-foot-4, 342 pounds and is going to be a total load for any of the Bears interior three linemen to handle, but especially Mustipher because Lawrence will be trying to tie him up and drive him back to stop running plays. Mustipher's real weakness is with the bigger, stronger type nose tackles but he has been ascending in terms of Pro Football Focus blocking grades. Mustipher had an outstanding 72.6 run-blocking grade from PFF last week and is ranked 19th in overall center play after spending most of his early career ranked around 32nd in the league. Lawrence has 11 tackles and a forced fumble so far.
Bears CB Kyler Gordon vs. Giants WR Richie James
Gordon has struggled off and on playing the slot cornerback spot and gives up the occasional big play, like a 52-yarder to Chris Moore of Houston last week. Coaches keep praising him and say they can expect big things, but they might be pushing a bit of a false narrative. Gordon simply is going to need time to fit that slot position in the NFL as it's a difficult spot. James is a pleasant surprise for the Giants. A seventh-round pick of the 49ers, he made 38 catches in three years before coming to the Giants. He is a 5-9, 185-pound slot receiver who has a team-high 14 catches for 146 yards this season. The Giants have needed someone to step up because they might lead the league in disappointments at this position. Kadarius Toney, Darius Slayton and Kenny Golladay have all been mentioned as potential trade fodder and Slayton even as a possible cut victim. None has done a thing this year, Golladay with two catches in five targets, Toney with two catches in three targets and Slayton with no receptions. One of them will need to step up for the Ginats because Sterling Shepard suffered a knee injury Monday night. In the meantime, they do know they have come to appreciate James.
Bears DE Trevis Gipson vs. Giants RT Evan Neal
Neal is the seventh pick in this year's draft, a 6-foot-7, 350-pound rookie from Alabama who has clearly struggled through three games. He has allowed four sacks and Pro Football Focus tracks him at 10 pressures allowed. His run blocking has been even worse, as he has a 37.3 PFF grade in the running attack but 48.5 as a pass blocker. Neal did have an excellent run-blocking game against Dallas Monday night with a 76.4 PFF grade but his pass blocking was scored at 27.3. Gipson did not get the starting assignment this year but rotates in regularly and is the best Bears pass rusher this season with two sacks, an area coach Matt Eberflus says they need to improve. Al-Quadin Muhammad will start and Gipson, who is about 13 pounds heavier than Muhammad, will get about the same number of snaps. Gipson has four pressures and two sacks.
Bears TE Cole Kmet vs. Giants LB Tae Crowder
Kmet started to come out of a receiving slump last week with his first two catches of the year, including a 24-yarder. He hasn't been inactive, though, as he has been effective blocking in the run game at times. Giants linebacker Tae Crowder is graded by PFF as the 77th best linebacker so far out of 78 graded in the NFL, with a 29.1 score. He has been at his worst against the run but not much better against the pass with a TD allowed when targeted. The Giants have had trouble at linebacker, as former Bears linebacker Austin Calitro has been nearly as poorly graded as Crowder, at 29.6, and No. 76 in the league by PFF.
Bears LG Cody Whitehair vs. Giants DT Nick Williams
Potentially disruptive Giants defensive tackle Leonard Williams has missed practice this week after missing Monday night's game due to a knee injury and former Bears defensive lineman Nick Williams is the likely replacement starter. Nick Williams had a strong 2019 season with the Bears and left as a free agent for Detroit but never accomplished much with the Lions. He has always been a better fit in a 3-4 base defense like the Giants use, but they rarely seem to be in the 3-4. PFF gives Williams a 48.9 pass rush grade and 54.5 overall mark so far. Whitehair started slow but has come on strong and has the highest overall PFF grade among Bears offensive linemen at 71.1. He had a line-best 85.3 grade against the Texans. This advantage the Bears enjoy vanishes if Leonard Williams is over his knee injury because he's a borderline Pro Bowl-level player.
Bears DT Justin Jones vs. Giants LG Ben Bredeson
For Jones, it had been slow-go in his first two games after signing with the Bears and leaving the L.A. Chargers, but in Week 3 he sprang to life with his first Bears sack and first two quarterback hits. Jones' quickness in the run game can be used against him here if he isn't careful because running back Saquon Barkley can take advantage of lost gap integrity or bubbles that develop along the line due to penetration. Bredeson is a former Ravens lineman who was acquired by trade after his first season. He had made only one start before this season. The 6-foot-3, 315-pounder has not allowed a sack but PFF grades him 61st out of 71 guards it has scores on in the NFL this year.
Bears LB Roquan Smith vs. Giants RB Saquon Barkley
It's tough to call this an individual matchup but the two will run into each other quite often Sunday, with Smith playing close to the line and pursuing on runs and screen passes. Smith is coming off his best game of the year with 16 tackles and a game-deciding interception. Barkley is a big, fast, powerful back who runs with great speed and agility, but suffered his torn ACL against the Bears on an Eddie Jackson tackle in 2020. He is 234 pounds and is actually 2 pounds heavier than Smith.
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