On Thursday Night Football, It seemed as though the Bears were playing down to the level of the New York Giants. However, in reality the Bears were just suffering from the same problems that have plagued them since the beginning. The Bears couldn’t generate a consistent amount of pressure throughout the game and as a result they struggled mightily against the pass as Eli Manning would be able to find an open man time and time again.
Manning made it a little easy by throwing 2 interceptions within his first 5 throws, one of which being returned for a touchdown by Tim Jennings. Yet, the Bears still could not manage to pull away after turning the ball over on downs after the first interception and allowing the Giants to have a 10 play drive, leading to a touchdown. After this the Giants, particularly Brandon Jacobs, found their rhythm. The Giants managed to score another touchdown while they held the Bears to two field goals. The Bears running game couldn’t get going this game, even though they were against one of the worse rush defenses in the league. On the other hand, the Bears failed at containing Brandon Jacobs early due to missed tackles or poor tackling all together.
It seems the roles were reversed in this game, the Giants were supposed to be horrible at running the ball, especially with David Wilson out indefinitely. Agreed, no one expected Brandon Jacobs to run as hard as he did, but the Bears seemed out of ideas when it came to stopping him. Jay Cutler performed admirably, he didn’t turn the ball over and threw for 262 yards and two touchdowns. Brandon Marshall had somewhat of a bounce back game by showing extra effort with 9 catches out of 11 targets for 87 yards and the recipient of both of Cutler’s touchdowns.
It was a hard fought game by the Giants. They managed to capitalize on the things the Bears have been struggling with over the first 5 games. Yes, Eli Manning threw a game changing interception with 2 minutes left in the game, but had it not happened the Giants would have been able to go down the field and potentially score. The Bears offense had to carry the team a little more than has been necessary in prior years. It was good to see that happen with the lack of a running game. Plenty of things to look at going into our nation’s capitol.
