The New York Giants moved to 3-1 on Sunday, as they defeated the Chicago Bears 20-12. As the final score indicates, this was a low-scoring affair that was dominated by defense, and a few splash plays coming on the ground. Giants quarterback Daniel Jones scored the only two touchdowns of the game with his legs, finishing with 68 rushing yards on six carries. However, he did suffer a left ankle injury in the second half, and his replacement, Tyrod Taylor, exited with what the team confirmed to be a concussion. The Giants had to go Wildcat formation for a series, but they still found a way to fight back into the win column.
Saquon Barkley continued his magnificent 2022 campaign, as he rushed 31 times for 146 yards, while adding 16 yards through the air. With the wide receiver issues the Giants have, Barkley has established himself as the engine that makes this offense go, and he made several clutch plays Sunday afternoon that kept New York on the field.
For the Bears, they did a bit more through the air this week. Justin Fields reached a season high in passing yards on his first six passing attempts, and finished completing 10 of 21 passes for 163 yards. Darnell Mooney reappeared in the offense, and caught four passes for 94 yards. With David Montgomery out due to injury, Khalil Herbert took over at running back Sunday. He rushed for 77 yards on 19 carries, and caught a pass for 24 yards as well.
Let's take a deeper look at what went down in New Jersey Sunday.
Why the Giants won
The 'boots and Barkley are the answer to this question. It was fascinating to watch the Giants offense in the first half, as head coach Brian Daboll kept dialing up these play-action bootleg rollouts, and they worked like a charm nearly every time. The Bears bit on play-action more often than not, which allowed for Jones to use the rollout as a sort of option play. He could take off into open space with his legs, or dump the ball off to a tight end streaking across the middle.
It was off of these bootleg plays that Jones scored both of his rushing touchdowns.
Jones couldn't run the offense alone, of course, as Barkley racked up 105 yards from scrimmage just in the first half, and finished with 162 scrimmage yards. The 14 points scored in the first half basically put the game away for the Giants. That's not considered a fast start against many opponents, but it was against the Bears.
Why the Bears lost
It must have been maddening for Bears fans to watch bootleg after bootleg work in the first half. Head coach Matt Eberflus is supposed to be a defensive-minded guy, but he didn't adjust until he got his defense back in the locker room at halftime.
Another reason why the Bears lost this game was because of their struggles in the red zone. They went 0-for-3 when inside the 20, and seemed like they were playing for field goals the entire matchup. There was even an instance on third-and-6 where Chicago dialed up an underneath tight end screen on the Giants' 14-yard line that went for a loss of 3 yards. I mean, what?
Turning point
With both Jones and Taylor injured, the Giants went three-and-out in the shadow of their own goal post up eight points with about two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. Here, they needed punter Jamie Gillan to come in and fire off a nice boot. He did exactly that, and Bears rookie returner Velus Jones Jr. muffed the kick. It was recovered by the Giants, who took more time off the clock and put the game on ice.
Play of the game
If you weren't aware, Barkley is back. He came into this week with the most scrimmage yards in the NFL, and had another impressive performance Sunday. Check out this broken screen play, where he broke a tackle in the backfield, then reversed field and turned it into a 15-yard gain on third-and-9. Playmaker.
Giants forced to go Wildcat
After Jones suffered his ankle injury in the third quarter, Taylor took over under center. Jones was listed as questionable to return, but was forced to once Taylor appeared to suffer a concussion. Jones had to be on the field since he could call in the plays with his helmet, but he didn't line up at quarterback immediately. Instead, he took the spot of a wide receiver while Barkley and Co. went Wildcat.
Jones did play a few snaps at "quarterback," but he did not throw a single pass after suffering his injury. It's something to keep an eye on in practice next week.
What's next
The Bears will stay on the road next week to take on the 3-1 Minnesota Vikings -- who are coming off of a thrilling victory over the New Orleans Saints in London. As for the Giants, they travel to London next week to take on the Green Bay Packers.