Bears 19, Giants 14 | What Went Right and What Went Wrong

Much like the way their season has gone, not a whole lot went right for the Giants in their 19-14 loss to the Chicago Bears.

The New York Giants dropped their seventh straight game in a 19-14 loss to the Chicago Bears on Sunday.

Coming off their bye week, the Giants ventured to Chicago to take on the 4-6 Bears at Soldier Field. Unfortunately, the team’s recent struggles were on full display against a Bears team that has lost five out of their last six games.

There was very little that went right for the Giants and a lot of what went wrong, so let's break it all down.

What Went Right

Despite Corey Ballentine’s struggles on the first two drives of the second half, the Giants defense was better than their total yards allowed stat showed as a unit only giving up 65 rushing yards on the ground and two touchdowns, one of which was a fumble recovered by the Bears at the Giants own three-yard line.

Inside linebacker Alec Ogletree had a spectacular first-half interception of Bears quarterback Mitchell Trubisky in the end zone to end the Bears scoring threat. 

Rookie defensive back Julian Love had a more than solid day recording his first career interception.

Safety Jabrill Peppers had four tackles, one for a loss, and a 40-yard punt return, but left the game with a hip injury in the second half and did not return.

The Giants rushed for 109 yards on the ground against the Bears' eighth-ranked run defense that came into Sunday allowing 95 yards on the ground per game.

Receiver Darius Slayton had another strong game leading the way with four catches for 67 yards. 

Despite a 22-yard run, Sterling Shepard was quiet in his first game back since Week 5, recording five receptions for only 15 yards. 

With tight ends Evan Engram (foot) and Rhett Ellison (concussion) out, Kaden Smith stepped up to catch the game’s first touchdown.

The Giants offense had a total of minus-2 yards in the second half leading up until they switched to a fast tempo no-huddle offense in the final 10 minutes when down 19-7. After making this change, the offense racked up 131 yards and a touchdown on their final two drives.

The Giants second touchdown of the game came in the second half came on a miraculous 4th-and-18 play from Daniel Jones, who heaved up a 23-yard pass with pressure in his face to find Golden Tate (3 receptions for  33 yards on the day) in the end zone. This put the Giants within five points of the Bears with under five minutes to play.

What Went Wrong

The Giants only accumulated 243 total yards of offense and converted just one of 12 third-down attempts  (8%). 

Daniel Jones threw for a career-low 150 yards, completing 21 of 36 pass attempts,  but did have two passing touchdowns. Jones also lost his league-leading tenth fumble of the season when Khalil Mack beat Nate Solder for a strip-sack. 

After the Bears recovered the ball at the Giants 3-yard line, quarterback Mitchell Trubisky ran in a touchdown, which ultimately became the deciding score.

Running back Saquon Barkley rushed for 59 yards on 17 carries, but only had 15 rushes for 32 yards until a 22-yard run in the fourth quarter. Barkley also had a big drop on a 3rd-and-3 in the first quarter, where he flared out of the backfield with his man trailing behind him.

Kicker Aldrick Rosas had a day to forget at Soldier Field, missing two field goals of 42 and 43 yards. This came back to bite the Giants who lost by five points. 

Rosas was also penalized for sending the opening kickoff out of bounds to start the second half. This put the Bears at the 40-yard line, which would lead up to their first touchdown score of the game.

Giants rookie slot cornerback Corey Ballentine also had a nightmare of a game starting on this opening offensive drive for the Bears. Chicago had a five-play 55-yard touchdown drive with most every yard coming from number one receiver Allen Robinson. 

Robinson beat Ballentine on a 23-yard reception and then capped off the drive by besting him yet again on a 32-yard catch-and-run for a touchdown.

Unfortunately, Ballentine’s day got worse on the following Bears possession. Bears head coach Matt Nagy and his offense found their ideal mismatch in Ballentine and continued to target the rookie on three straight throws for completions to Robinson and Anthony Miller, marching down the field for 84 yards. Luckily, the Giants defense was able to hold the Bears to a field goal.

Both Robinson (6 receptions 131 yards and a touchdown) and Miller (6 catches 77 yards) gave the Giants young secondary fits all day. 

Chicago came into Sunday with the ranked passing offense averaging only 182 yards through the air per week. This did not matter in this game as Trubisky threw for 278 yards on 25 of 41 passing with one touchdown and two interceptions.

Coming into the day, the Bears had only eclipsed 300 total yards of offense once this season. They put up a season-high 335 yards against the Giants on Sunday.

Lastly, Giants head coach Pat Shurmur’s in-game management once again came into question when the Bears caught the Giants off guard on a fourth-down play late int he game. 

With under four minutes to go, the Bears initially looked as though they would be going for it on fourth down, but at the last minute, the subbed out their punting unit. 

The Giants, who looked confused, didn't quite make the necessary substitutions. Cornerback Janrois Jenkins ran back to serve as the punt returner, but the Bears pinned the Giants back deep in their own territory. 

Shurmur also arguably waited too long to change things up on his offense that was not unable to move the ball in the final half until they went to an up-tempo pace.