Plays that Mattered in Giants Week 4 Win Over Bears

Coach Gene Clemons give you the plays that mattered most in the Gints' Week 4 win over Chicago.

Author:
Gene Clemons
Publish date:
Oct 6, 2022 7:46 PM EDT

In this story:

New York Giants

Most of the games in the NFL come down to the margins. A play or sequence of plays makes the difference in a contest's outcome. Over the last few seasons, many of those plays went against the Giants.

Despite the passing game struggles, defensive lapses, and injuries this season, one of the positives to take away from this Giants team is that they are winning those margins, and it is one of the reasons they stand at 3-1 currently. Much to the surprise of even the most die-hard Giants fan.

Let’s look at those moments that mattered in their victory over the Bears.

1st & 10 at NYG 14: Opening Drive Red Zone Hold!

Thanks to a completed pass, a good quarterback run, and a timely roughing penalty mixed in with some minimal run gains, the Bears worked their opening drive down to the Giants 14-yard line.

New York has done a great job of limiting a team’s damage by forcing field goals in positions where teams felt like they should get seven points. This was no different. A Khalil Herbert first down run was stuffed up the middle by Tae Crowder.

On second down, Crowder does a fantastic job of back-dooring the block by the guard and exploding down the line of scrimmage to tackle running back Khalil Herbert before he blasted through a really small lane condensed by Dexter Lawrence and rookie linebacker Tommy Fox.

That forced the Bears into a third and long where Lawrence could apply enough discomfort that Fields threw the ball away to preserve the three points.

1st & 10 at CHI 21: Fake The Run…and Run!

On the Giants' second possession, they were able to establish a rhythm. You know a New York drive is good when there are no third-down plays, which was the case on this drive.

Just a yard outside the red zone, the Giants sat with a first down looking to threaten. They brought in three tight ends and lined them off the left side.

Jones executes a terrific play fake from under center to Barkley, which draws the attention of almost everybody on defense. This allows Jones to boot out without a blocker and only one tight end Tanner Hudson on the corner route.

Jones can see that Hudson is covered deep, but he also notices a lack of defenders in his way. He decides to pull the ball down to run with it. The only player in position to stop him is the cornerback, and Hudson does a great job of blocking the corner as Jones uses his athleticism to get into the endzone for the Giants first score of the game.

1st & 10 at NYG 27: The Edges are Secured - Sack, Fumble, Recovery Giants!

The Bears were able to get into striking distance after starting at their own 20-yard line. A third and 20 screen pass from Fields to Herbert allowed the Bears to pick up the first down at the 27-yard line.

On first down, the Giants lined up in a 50 front double eagle look (a nose guard head up the center, two defensive tackles shaded outside the eye of the guards, and two defenders outside eye of the tackles) with Ojulari and Thibodeaux lined up on the edges. It was a rare first down pass for the Bears, who were in a base 21 personnel (2 backs and a tight end) from the shotgun.

Fields was flanked by both backs. Both backs released into the flats on the snap, Ojulari pressed from the defensive right side, and Lawrence provided a push up the middle. Ojulari beat Lawrence to the QB and hit his arm before it had a chance to go forward.

Thibodeaux smartly tracked the ball down and recovered it to secure the turnover. This was a significant play where both of the edges, considered a big part of the Giants future, made plays. It will hopefully not be the last.

3rd & 9 at CHI 27: Saquon, Saquon, Saquon!

After an illegal formation penalty negated a great play call by the Giants that resulted in a first down pass from Jones to David Sills.

Instead of first and goal from the 3-yard line to 3rd-and-9 at the 27-yard line. It looked like another series where the Giants would have to settle for a field goal instead of putting seven points on the board.

That was until Barkley caught a screen pass that looked doomed from the beginning. As soon as he caught it, he was hit by a defender.

He was able to shake off the tackle on the right side of the field, reverse field and turn the corner where Jones provided a block for him, and get the ball down to the 12-yard line for a first down.

Two plays later, Jones used a Barkley run fake to boot out and walk into the endzone untouched for the second touchdown of the day.

1st & 10 at NYG 18: Another FG Forced by Stout Red Zone Defense!

The Bears received the ball after halftime, and just like their opening drive, they could move the ball down the field against New York. Now they were legitimately in the red zone threatening.

On first down, they run an inside zone that is played perfectly by Jihad Ward, who was able to see a blocker at the point of attack and make the tackle for minimal Gail. On second down, Fields tries to get a pass throw in the flat, but Fabian Moreau covers the receiver well.

On third down, the Bears tried to set up a screen to Cole Kmet, and the defense could sniff it out and get Kmet to the ground before he had a chance to pick up any positive yards. The Bears were forced to take the field goal.

That was as close as the Bears would get to the Giants for the rest of the day. Although the New York offense only managed to add two more field goals, the defense was lights out.

After that early third-quarter field goal, the Bears offense only ran 16 more plays over five possessions and could not add any more points.