That’s how you bounce back! With the NY Giants ticked off following the Monday Night Football loss vs. the Dallas Cowboys, this team was hoping get back on the right track in a big way at MetLife Stadium against the Chicago Bears. Well, they did just that.
Thanks to strong play on both sides of the ball, the G-Men were able to record a 20-12 victory over Justin Fields and Co. Things got worrisome late, as Daniel Jones went down with his ankle injury and Tyrod Taylor took a massive shot, forcing Jones back into action before Brian Daboll was hoping. Despite that adversity, NY indeed recorded a win and there were plenty of positives to discuss.
5. Daniel Jones put on a show
We’re going to have to start calling him Danny Wheels instead of Danny Dimes. In the victory, Jones made big plays with his arm and legs. The highlight of his day no question had to be the two rushing touchdowns that he was able to record in the first half for New York.
Offensive coordinator Mike Kafka did a great job of keeping the Chicago defense guessing, as the play-action surely had them confused up front. This opened the door for Jones to get things done with his wheels, as the fans at MetLife surely enjoyed seeing him make his way to the end zone not once, but twice.
This was a needed performance from Jones. He’s always going to have haters calling him out for poor play, but he did little wrong on Sunday against the Bears. Despite the loss in Week 3, Jones also played well against the Dallas Cowboys. Now, he’s surely got confidence leading up to the Week 5 matchup with the Green Bay Packers. We’ll keep an eye on his ankle this next week in practice, but this doesn’t appear to be a serious injury.
4.Saquon Barkley with an unreal play
There really are few people like Saquon Barkley out there. The running back is back to his old self and we’re seeing that in a big way in 2022. Take the showdown against Chicago for example, as Barkley had another strong game, but people are going to be talking about one play in particular for a while.
On one third down play, Barkley looked like he was going to be stopped way behind the line of scrimmage and also come up way short of the first down. No. 26 had other ideas in this case, though, as he somehow managed to stay on his feet after catching a screen pass from Jones and he made Bears defenders look silly. Not only that, straight out of a video game, Barkley then broke outside and pushed forward.
In astonishing fashion, and thanks to a great block from Jones, Barkley got more than enough for the first down. Seriously, how in the heck was he able to pull this off? There aren’t many RBs in the game who would be able to record this kind of a play. Barkley is built different, though, there’s no question about that.
https://twitter.com/FanSided/status/1576633728066981890
3. Giants defensive front put on a show
What really stood out defensively was the strong play of the pass-rushers. In the first half alone, the Giants were able to record five sacks. Goodness me. The return of Azeez Ojulari and Kayvon Thibodeaux has come at the right time for this team. In the first half, Ojulari was able to force a fumble of Fields and Thibodeaux jumped on the ball.
That’s what fans have been hoping to see, as these two have the potential to be one of the best pass-rushing duos in the game for years to come. Not only that, we also must talk about the play of Dexter Lawrence. The stud defensive lineman was an absolute force on Sunday, with the Chicago offensive line having no answers for him.
Lawrence will need to play at this kind of a level moving forward. He really was fun to watch against the Bears. With Leonard Williams missing some time due to his knee injury, people were worried how the pass-rush would perform with him out. The defense as a whole stepped up for Wink Martindale vs. the Bears.
2. The NY Giants offensive line looked sharp
This is exactly what Daboll wanted to see vs. Chicago. The offensive line performance against the Dallas Cowboys was a joke. Rookie right tackle Evan Neal had one of the worst showings of his career, giving up three sacks and five pressures. Those three sacks were recorded by Demarcus Lawrence, who had his way with Neal.
Things were completely flipped vs. the Bears, however, as Neal looked very much like a first-round pick. As a whole, the OL unit had a bounce-back effort, as they not only did a good job of protecting Jones, but they were also fantastic in the run-blocking department. Barkley loved seeing that.
The Giants offensive line is going to have a huge test going up against the Green Bay Packers in London next weekend, but they’ll surely have some pep in their step leading up to that game after Sunday’s showing. The OL was getting destroyed on Twitter after the Monday Night Football loss. Things are feeling much different after the Chicago game.
1. NY Giants made the plays late to lock in the win
With all of the heartache Giants fans have been through in recent years, it’s perfectly fine if your gut was telling you the Bears would record a win at MetLife. The Giants were up 14-12 late in the third quarter, but Chicago got the ball back and Fields is electric with the ball in his hands. Surely they would score.
However, much like the majority of the game, the NY defense was able to keep Fields in check and not let him get comfortable running the offense. You’ve got to give Martindale credit for that, as he called one heck of a game. They play of the defense made the difference for the Giants being able to improve to 3-1. Special shout out to linebacker Tae Crowder too. He had a tremendous game.
Daboll must be all smiles right now too. The morale felt like it was low for Big Blue after Cooper Rush and Dallas handed them the Monday night loss. Rather than feel sorry for themselves, the Giants players had a good week of practice and they looked incredibly focused in taking care of business vs. the Bears. Mission accomplished, as the Giants are 3-1 leading up to the London matchup with Green Bay.