New York Giants Week 2 Opponent First Look: Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears took a big step back in 2019, after being one of the more dominant forces on defense the year prior.
The departure of former defensive coordinator Vic Fangio was felt, especially regarding defensive efficiency and opportunism.
As for the offense, quarterback Mitchell Trubisky, the No. 3 overall pick in the 2017 draft regressed, which prompted the Bears to trade for Nick Foles and his unreasonably high contract.
It’s a big year for the Bears, and they were able to pull a win out of thin air against their division rival Detroit Lions, who seem incapable of holding leads in Week 1 under head coach Matt Patricia.
According to NextGen Stats, the Bears had a 2% chance to win the game, but a fourth-quarter comeback materialized, and the Bears won.
Can the Bears make it 2-0 against the Giants in their 1:00 P.M. game Sunday? Let's take an early look at the matchups.
Bears on Offense
There seems to be some interesting developments with Bears wide receiver Allen Robinson and his standing with the team.
Apparently, he removed all things Chicago Bears from his social media accounts after his five-catch for 74-yard performance.
Can this impact the Giants? Maybe. But the Giants corners will have to be able to stick in man coverage against these Bears receivers, which is not a given.
Despite being on a pitch count in Week 1, Bears’ receiver Anthony Miller caught four balls for 76 yards and a touchdown. Last year against the Giants, head coach Matt Nagy schemed Allen Robinson in the slot frequently, creating a mismatch with Corey Ballentine, a player that the Bears targeted almost exclusively at one point. Ballentine played 59 snaps for the Giants in Week 1, but only two in the slot, where he gave up one reception for 11 yards.
Trubisky played poorly for the first three quarters but had a stellar fourth quarter in this comeback win. Trubisky’s touchdown throw to Anthony Miller was just about perfect.
Running back David Montgomery rushed the ball 13 times for 64 yards, having the most success running behind RG Germaine Ifedi and LT Charles Leno Jr.
Cordarrelle Patterson and Tarik Cohen were also utilized in the rushing attack, but it was Montgomery who dominated the touches from that area.
In 2019, Bears head coach Matt Nagy and the offense had most of their passing success in 12 personnel. In the offseason, the Bears signed Jimmy Graham and then drafted the tight end out of Notre Dame Cole Kmet.
Graham, who had a touchdown reception in this contest, played 52 snaps against the Lions. The Bears also had a lot of success passing the ball out of 10 personnel; Trubisky was efficient while rolling right on move-the-pocket plays, and on designed 1-step, quick game type of throws where the pre-snap coverage was already determined.
Despite some success in certain personnel groupings, Trubisky was terrible in 2019.
The Bears ranked 31st in yards per passing play (5.3 YPP). Trubsiky himself ranked dead last in the league in yards per passing attempt from a clean pocket and second-to-last in yards per passing play while under duress.
The struggles were compounded by the lack of an effective rushing attack; Montgomery struggled in his rookie season, and the Bears offensive line was poor in 2019.
Hopefully, it remains that way next Sunday, but Week 1 was a solid outing for the Bears as a whole, especially when you consider what they did in crunch time.
Bears on Defense
The loss of Vic Fangio was felt, and the Bears new defensive coordinator in 2019 was Chuck Pagano, a former head coach, and respective defensive mind. Still, the Bears couldn’t maintain their elite reputation.
The 2018 Vic Fangio defense led the league in points against (17.6), turnovers forced (36), interceptions by a wide margin (27), and were 3rd in sacks with 50.
The 2019 defense under Pagano regressed and only had 19 takeaways, ten interceptions, and 32 sacks, albeit they were still dominant with points allowed (18.6). Yes, turnovers can be a bit fluky from year to year, but the regression was apparent.
One statistic that stood out about the lack of overall team efficiency was the 30 sack swing from the team. In 2018, the Bears were net +17 sacks on the year; in 2019, the Bears were a dismal -13 sacks on the season.
Trubisky couldn’t stay on his feet, and the 32 sacks from Pagano’s defense wasn’t nearly enough.
There are positives about the Bears 2020 campaign, though. Most of 2019 was injury-riddled, and key players like linebackers Roquan Smith and Danny Trevathan, along with stud defensive lineman Akiem Hicks, battled through injuries that hurt the effectiveness of the unit.
Now with those players healthy, along with the ascending defensive linemen Roy Robertson-Harris, rookie cornerback Jaylon Johnson, and stud safety Eddie Jackson, the defense will look to recapture that 2018 form.
In Week 1, the Bears were able to pressure Matthew Stafford 18 times; for reference, the Giants pressured Big Ben 14 times.
Six of those pressures by the Bears came from Khalil Mack, a player who lined up on both the defense's left and right side. While the Bears only had the one Hicks sack, it was evident that Stafford was uncomfortable in the pocket, especially when it mattered most.
Free-agent signing Robert Quinn also did not play in Week 1 and is questionable for Week 2. His return will help Mack on the other side and allow the depth pass rushers for the Bears to be fresher in passing situations.
According to Pro Football Focus, the Bears had four players grade in over 70 in Week 1’s come from behind win against the Lions: Khalil Mack, Kyle Fuller, rookie cornerback Jaylon Johnson, and EDGE James Vaughters. The Giants had four as well: Blake Martinez, Lorenzo Carter, Dalvin Tomlinson, and Dexter Lawerence.
As for scheme and execution, the Bears played a mix of man and zone coverage and didn’t hesitate to bring pressure when warranted. The Lions did a solid job using their back out of the backfield (targeted running backs nine times) to stress the Bears when they blitzed in man coverage. The Bears corners were also aggressive in pick/rub situations.
We saw the Steelers take advantage of the Giants heavy man coverage defense in week one with similar play styles; in these situations against the Lions, the Bears’ cornerbacks transitioned and jumped the underneath route.
On one play, the Lions may have had an open receiver that wasn’t covered because both players transitioned to the under route. This could be a design that the Giants can attempt to take advantage of, if the Bears make that mistake again.
Final Thoughts
The Giants' first road game won’t be easy. As of this writing, the Bears are -6, and the over/under is a gross 41.5 points. Honestly, that’s not too far off what may happen on Sunday.
If offensive coordinator Jason Garrett stays with the quick rhythm passing attack while incorporating Kaden Smith and Evan Engram as “wide receivers” and switching offensive looks with pre-snap movement/shifts, the Giants will be able to establish their offense.
I think New York has a chance to win this game if they’re intense, focused, and limit the turnovers.
As for the Bears, Trubisky will have to be fourth quarter Mitch because he may be asked to throw the football quite a bit against a Giants’ team that is pretty sound at stopping the run.
