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Bears and Giants In-Game Blog

Reporting and analysis in-game of the Giants and Bears in a battle of two teams trying to get to 3-1 on the season.

Fourth Quarter

  • Gano field goal goes off the upright but the Giants survive a silly last-second Bears lateral play. Worked about like most Bears plays on this day. Giants 20, Bears 12 Final
  • Barkley barrels up the middle for a first down. That's the game. TWO -MINUTE WARNING!!!!!
  • Velus Jones Jr. muffs the punt and Gary Brightwell recovers. The Bears waited three games to get Jones on the field and that's what they get for it.
  • Giants go into fetal position, run up the middle and will punt. Bears will get it back with just over two minutes left and one timeout.
  • Roquan Smith knifes in for a TFL on second down back at the 3 and the Giants are looking at third-and-9. 
  • Stubborn Luke Getsy decides he's running it and the openings are on the left side but Herbert runs straight ahead for nothing. For some reason the Bears punt but it works out as Gill's kick rolls dead at the 3. Still, the clock has run down to just 3:04.
  • Fields found Mooney for 2 yards and Bears are facing third-and-2. Kind of a wasted pass play.
  • On first down, Teven Jenkins with some solid run blocking and Herbert cuts back behind him for 6.
  • Textbook toss play with wide zone blocking and Herbert goes forward for 12 and a first down.
  • Giants have 242 yards rushing. And the Bears think they have that run defense problem fixed. Right.
  • No one risking Jones with a throw now with his ankle all taped up and the running play nets nothing so Gano goes to kick a 43-yard field goal with 5:31 left. Giants 20, Bears 12
  • Bears figure out they're not passing and close ranks on the defensive formation to stop Breida for a yard. Now Jones is back in. But they don't seem to know what they're doing so they spend a timeout.
  • They snap it to Barkley and he runs for 4. 
  • Matt Brieda comes in and runs the wildcat for a first down. Giants are now at the Bears 30 and are still in wildcat.
  • Taylor has to leave with what looks like a head injury because he lowered his head. It was a clean play by Morrow but Taylor was the fool who lowered his helmet.
  • They let Taylor out of the pocket and he gets the first down but lowers his head stupidly and then fumbles it. Nicholas Morrow recovers but his feet were out of bounds.
  • Giants facing third-and-7 after a 3-yard Barkley run and dropped pass over the middle.
  • Giants curiously going no-huddle with a five-point lead in the fourth quarter but Slayton gets open for a short catch and the first down.
  • Roquan Smith made to look like a fool in the open field by Tyrod Taylor, gives up the first down on an RPO. Had him in the backfield for a loss and tried to hit him up high. Terrible play by Smith.
  • Mike Pennel stops Barkley after 3 yards and is fired up about it, then Angelo Blackson drags him down after 3. So the Bears must stop third-and-4. 
  • Fantastic punt by Trenton Gill and an ensuring hold on the return pins the Giants back at their 21.
  • All out blitz and Fields throws it away. Bears punt.
  • Bears try Herbert inside this time and he nets 4 behind Patrick's blocking, then cuts back for 3. Third-and-3.
  • Taylor goes for the bomb to Slayton and he's not open at all. Eddie Jackson picks it off with both he and Gordon in coverage. He could have been off to the races but Sayton did a good job tackling him at the 4.
  • Taylor runs for a first down on the RPO to the 35.
  • Taylor stays in the game and Barkley takes a stretch play 9 yards off the left side. Giants tackle Evan Neal also out of the game with a neck injury.
  • Barkley last a yard to end the third quarter so Giants facing second-and-11. He has 103 yards on 18 attempts

Third Quarter

  • Not sure the Bears want Taylor on the field. He can run bootlegs better than Jones. Quarter ends. Giants 17, Bears 12
  • Tyrod Taylor in the game at QB.
  • Fabian Moreau defends a third-down throw but Pettis actually has it in his hands and can't catch it. The Bears caught the Giants blitzing and in man-to-man coverage and the pass was spot-on. Pettis has to hold that throw. 
  • A 6-yard Ebner run around left end and then the Giants show the Bears how to defend the bootleg and force Fields into a short incompletion. 
  • That ankle is being taped up. It might limit his bootleg running. The hit by Brisker caused the injury.
  • Jones limped off the field and his foot or ankle are being looked at on the sidelines. Tyrod Taylor is his backup.
  • The Giants go into a shell and hand off up the middle to Barkley. That will get Daboll some criticism but it's never a bad call to give it to Barkley. Graham Gano drills a 44-yard field goal. Giants 17, Bears 12.
  • Nicholas Morrow's shoestring tackle of Barkley saves a big gainer after a 5-yard gain and Giants face third-and-16.
  • Brisker comes off the edge blitzing right into the bootleg and sacks Jones for a loss of 11.
  • Forgotten Darius Slayton gets behind Gordon on the play-action deep ball. Gordon interferes with him and the Giants have the ball at the Bears 22.
  • QB run by Jones on option run goes for 19. Gordon was blocked out of the way and Eddie Jackson saved a TD run by delivering a big hit. Giants at their own 38.
  • Could have called holding on Gordon, actually.
  • Pass rush flushes Jones out and he throws it away but Gordon is flagged for illegal contact.
  • Martindale's first-half blitzing has instilled the fear of the blitz in the Bears. Now they can't be sure what's going to happen. Fields is 8 of 16 for 155 yards, 84.1 passer rating.
  • He fools them again and brings three pass rushers. Fields throws it away. Bears have to punt. A three-and-out is pretty disappointing after they have a chance to take the lead, have it at their own 39. 
  • Third-and-11 for the Bears after a 4-yard Herbert run off left tackle. Watch for a Martindale blitz again.
  • Fields has to wheel out of the pocket and gains a few yards on scramble but when you scramble backwards first like that you don't gain many yards. 
  • Holding on a running play off right tackle on Kmet. Actually wasn't much of a hold. Officials missed much worse in the first half.
  • Cody Whitehair injured his knee and initially was questionable to return but now has been ruled out. Not a good sign. He has been graded by PFF as their best blocker this year. Teven Jenkins had the same grade but had played far fewer snaps.
  • Jones gets some running room and brings the punt back to the 39, a 21-yard return of a 55-yard punt.  Bears ball and they'll see if they can continue working that revised offensive line.
  • Jones pinned back on the punt but the Giants have to punt again after Jason Pinnock was called for running out of bounds on his own and not coming back into the field of play.
  • Jones overthrows on third-and-5 over the middle and the Bears get the ball back with a chance to take the lead.
  • Vildor with an outstanding tackle in the open on second down on Barkley, hit him ankle high without wrapping up, which is dangerous, but forced third-and-5.
  • On third-and-7 they force Jones to throw from the pocket and he finds Richie James in front of Gordon for the first down.
  • Again they have Barkley trapped behind the line and Joe Thomas misses the tackle but Barkley runs right into the middle of the defense and gets 3.'
  • Bears finally figure out how to defend the bootleg but Jones actually completes it anyway. Officials flag for illegal man downfield negates the catch.
  • Then Armon Watts and Justin Jones make a nice tackle on Barkley for only 2, but Jones screws up and jumps offsides.
  • One of the best jobs of coverage by the Bears on kickoffs this year pins the Giants back at the 13.
  • Red zone a dead zone for the Bears today.
  • Expecting another blitz, they throw the tight end screen again and there was no blitz and the screen lost 2 to Kmet. Badgley drills a 35-yard field goal. Giants 14, Bears 12. 
  • Bears go no huddle after a quick 4-yard Herbert run but then Fields throws an awful pass in the ground, a short out. Third-and=6.
  • Herbert explodes off left tackle for 16 yards to the 18.
  • For some reason, no blitz that time and Fields stays home and hits Mooney. They actually dropped one of the rushers into coverage so it was three men. 
  • Third-and-9 after two Ebner runs went nowhere. Now Herbert checks back in as a pass blocker.
  • Ebner starts the second half ???
  • Trevon Wesco his first Bears catch on a bootleg to start the half. Picks up 23.
  • Velus Jones won't try to return a kick about 3 yards deep, won't even field it. Bears start at the 25.

Second Quarter

  • The Bears gave up 143 yards rushing in the first half, 90 to Barkley. Jones 6 of 10 for 61 yards passing.
  • Bears came out running well but ended the half with only 42 yards and 14 carries from their backs. Fields was 5 of 11 for 117 yards and led the Bears with 47 yards rushing on six scrambles.
  • Again Fields chased down after a yard and half ends. The Bears better do something to get their pass blocking straightened out at halftime because the Giants had three sacks coming into this game but have been all over Fields and with five sacks. Reminding me of the Jay Cutler beating in New York in 2010. As Fields got up, he was limping so that is something to follow in the second half. Half Ends.
  • Patrick did a poor job blocking Thibodeaux but peeled off and saved the sack. 
  • Illegal contact looked initiated by EQ actually.
  • Fields with a poor slide as he scrambles for a few but an illegal contact stops the clock and gives the Bears a first down.
  • Bears with silly use of timeouts. Ball is punted into the end zone and the Bears have it with 36 seconds left, no timeouts. They should have let the Giants call them or run the clock out.
  • Brisker, Roquan and Vildor rally to the ball and leave the Giants facing fourth-and-1. The Giants will punt but the Bears used their last timeout on the stop. 
  • Giants get a first down despite a questionable Bears use of a timeout on third-and-inches. Then an incompletion and short Barkley run up the middle leave the Giants facing third-and-6 at their 38 with 50 seconds left.
  • Badgley field goal from 40 yards goes right down the middle. Giants 14, Bears 9
  • Noise and a false start make it third-and-15 at the 28. They run a short pass to Kmet and it becomes a scrum as the Bears push it forward enough to give Badgley a shorter field goal try.
  • TWO-MINUTE WARNING!!!!!
  • Blocking still a problem since the loss of Whitehair. They had put Teven Jenkins at right guard and Lucas Patrick at left guard. and are going with that. It's not a lineup they really used in practices.
  • Fields waited a bit too long to find EQ near the goal line and Giants zone breaks it up, then on second down Herbert has no running room.
  • Giants' Henry Mondeaux leaving the field on a cart. A D-lineman. New York should have seized the chance to put away the Bears because they usually play stronger in the second half. They like to say it's their conditioning from the "HITS principle."
  • Fields scrambles for 12 on third-and-10 and has to lower his shoulder to get the first down. Azeez Ojulari let him outside the containment. And another Giants player is hurt.
  • Giants have three injuries in the game. DB Julian Love out of the game now. The pass blocking and run blocking has deteriorated for the Bears after Whitehair left.
  • Special teams turnover. Josh Blackwell with the strip and then after a scramble for the ball, it comes right back to him. Bears ball at the Giants 33.
  • Cody Whitehair going to the locker room and Fields is sacked on third down. They moved Lucas Patrick to left guard and Dexter Lawrence went right through him for the sack.
  • Fields throws low to Mooney and officials rule a catch but it's obvious he never caught it. The ball hit the ground with 4:18 left in the half.
  • Herbert returns and gets 4 on first down off left tackle.
  • Nine runs, 77 yards for Barkley. Four runs for 42 yards from Jones. Tell me about how the Bears' run defense got it fixed by beating the Texans again.
  • Bootleg touchdown run. No one home again. Gordon was being blocked in the end zone. An 8-yard TD run. Giants 14, Bears 6
  • Bootleg pass but the Giants lined up in an illegal formation. Now it's third-and-9. Bears commit the ultimate sin when facing Barkley. Morrow has him dead to rights behind the line on a screen and doesn't get him down. Everyone else is out of their gaps then and Barkley takes it to the 12 for a first down.
  • Smith a shoestring tackle prevents a Barkley first down and Giants are third-and-4 at the Bears 22.
  • The bootleg pass and no one home for 17. They run it the other way and Roquan finally shows up to make a tackle after 2.
  • Late blitz by Eddie Jackson and Barkley sees the gap he left, runs off right tackle for 29 yards. The Bears better forget that type of pressure.
  • On the replay, Fields lost the ball only when he was pulled by the ribs and wasn't hit as he threw. Giants have it at their 25.
  • Fields hit as he throws and it appears he actually fumbled it even though the ball went forward. Thibodeaux recovers. The ball goes to the Giants.
  • Martindale pays the price for a third-down blitz when he didn't need to. Ebner takes the screen 24 yards for a first down at the 27.
  • Good Giants pursuit on a wide zone play to Ebnber and the Bears lose 2 yards, then a blitz up the middle by Tae Crowder and Fields is sacked. This was the great fear, that Wink Martindale would come after Fields.
  • Screen to Kmet works perfectly for 13 to Giants 40.
  • Fields holds the ball on a bootleg pass a bit too long and overthrows Ebner as the rush closes in. He had Ebner open for 5 or 6 yards easily if he threw it earlier.
  • Bears 10:00 possession time, Giants 7:08.
  • Bears at their 36 and Ebner gets a great run for 11 off the left side with effective wide-zone blocking. Khari Blasingame with a big block on the play, close to a hold but not quite. Appears Aaron Robinson of the Giants is injured on the play.
  • Fields now the leading Bears rusher in the game with 31 yards after the 11-yarder on third-and-6.
  • Fields is blitzed, steps up and scrambles for the first down out of the grasp of Ward. Then he took a big hit downfield but couldn't really avoid it. Giants' Ward is injured on the play and officials stop the clock. They gave Fields good time considering the Giants blitzed, but he didn't see anyone come open.
  • What a horrible play. First Kayvon Thibodeaux is running around like his head is cut off because he doesn't know his assignment, then Fields doesn't know what to do with the ball and moves out of the pocket to throw it away. A real mess.
  • Finally a little more room from the line on inside blocking. Trestan Ebner is the beneficiary and he gets 5.
  • Jones steps up nicely in the pocket but overthrows Kenny Golladay at the sideline, and he wasn't open. He was well covered. So the Bears get the ball back at their 20 after a punt into the end zone.
  • Finally, someone figures it out. And it's the old guy. Robert Quinn chases down Jones and forces an incompletion on the bootleg at Bears 47, then penetration on second down leads to a stop by Morrow of Barkley for no gain.

First Quarter

  • Giants go no-huddle with a run up the middle for 5 by Barkley, then run the bootleg again and the Bears leave it wide open. Kyler Gordon gets over where he can prevent a first down but doesn't really go hard after the Giants QB and lets him run out of bounds at the sticks for the first down as the quarter ends. The Bears are having trouble defending the bootleg like they've never seen it before. They only saw it from Fields every day in training camp. Quarter ends: Giants 7, Bears 6
  • Barkley gets 11 on first down up the middle as Justin Jones leaves a big hole by overpenetrating out of 3-technique.
  • Fields 2 of 3 for 74 yards, both throws to Mooney. Have they rekindled the magic?
  • Another run by Herbert up the middle fails. Kind of difficult to get a first down near the goal line straight up the middle on third-and-3. So Badgley kicks another shorty, 22 yards and it's Giants 7, Bears 6
  • Herbert straight up the middle for 10 and it's third-and-3.
  • Jihad Ward playing to the outside and sacks Fields on a bootleg on first down at the Giants 14.
  • Fields goes play-action bomb to Mooney for 51 to get the Bears into field goal range, then Kayvon Thibodeaux hits Fields needlessly with helmet-to-helmet and also a push after an incompleted, tipped pass. 
  • First Giants touchdown in the first half this year and first since Dec. 12, 2021 for New York in the first half.
  •  Jones bootlegs again and Jaquan Brisker gets caught inside, leaving no one outside to tackle Jones. He runs 21 yards for the touchdown. Terrible job of containing from the edge throughout the drive by the defense. They had no problem keeping it between tackles on the first drive, but as soon as Barkley broke that run, they were overcommitting to the inside and leaving the outside empty. Giants 7, Bears 3
  • Giants get away with holding Joe Thomas and Saquan Barkley breaks outside for 18. It starts the Giants on their drive and Jones and Barkley break off first-down runs, then a bootleg pass puts it at the Bears 21.
  • Again Gill with a touchback. The Giants at their 25 run a bootleg pass and Al-Quadin Muhammad leaves his feat to dive at Jones' feet. Should have kept running because Jones then completed it for 9 yards. If he keeps running then Jones might not complete it. 
  • If Badgley is going to try 29-yarders all day, it's no problem.
  • Facing third-and-7 after two short Herbert runs between the tackles. From the 11, Fields tries going to the back corner to Dante Pettis who wasn't open at all. It sails incomplete, so the Bears let Badgley try a 29-yard field goal. Bears 3, Giants 0
  • The penalty is a close call. Didn't really look like he hit Fields in the head, like he missed. Officials really didn't have a good angle on it.
  • Fields scrambles, gets the first down and the Giants' Darrian Beavers hits him in the head. First down at the 14.
  • Two Herbert runs and Bears are in third down and manageable. Two to go at the Giants 32
  • Giants pass rush looked like they forgot Fields had speed and they left the outside open. Fields beat slow Justin Ellis for a first down and the Bears got away with holding on the play.
  • Bears start as conservatively as the Giants with a 2-yard run up the middle but Fields stood nicely in the pocket and rifled one to Mooney at the 44-yard line on second down. Mooney bobbled it a bit but first down.
  • Bears blitzing already and Nick Morrow can't get there but forces Daniel Jones to throw early and the completion comes up short of the first down. So the Bears are capable of blitzing. Kind of surprising it was Morrow coming instead of Roquan Smith. The punt leaves the Bears at their 24 after it went OB.
  • Two good plays stacking up the front by the Bears, the first one rapid run support by Eddie Jackson when it looked like Barkley had some room to cut.
  • Giants receiving. Trenton Gill with a touchback. He has done a decent job as a kickoff guy when they used him, which is a real plus from your punter.

Pregame

Inactives

Bears

  • K Cairo Santos
  • S Dane Cruikshank
  • RB David Montgomery
  • CB Jaylon Johnson
  • TE Ryan Griffin
  • G Ja'Tyre Carter
  • LB Matthew Adams

Giants

  • WR Wan'Dale Robinson
  • WR Kadarius Toney
  • DL Leonard Williams
  • CB Cor'Dale Flott
  • CB Nick McCloud
  • LB Austin Calitro
  • T Tyre Phillips
  • Vikings-Saints in London, the Red Rifle returns!
  • Weather forecast seems like Bear weather based on the opener. It's supposed to be raining off an on throughout the game.
  • As expected, Cairo Santos will miss the game for personal reasons and they promoted newly acquired Michael Badgley from the practice squad to the roster. Bears officially downgraded Santos to out about 6:30 a.m. today.
  • According to Adam Schefter, Velus Jones Jr., who was questionable, is making his debut. This was expected since Jones practiced on a limited basis both last Thursday and Friday, then this past Wednesday and Thursday, followed Friday by a full practice. 

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