Giants Extend Win Streak to 5 Despite Slow Start
The New York Giants defeated the Chicago Bears 22-16 for their 5th straight win. Despite the slow start, Big Blue came up with the victory to keep pace with the NFC East leading Dallas Cowboys. The player who really ignited the Giants was defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul who had 2 1/2 sacks.
Things didn't start so great for the Giants. On the opening drive, defensive end Olivier Vernon was called for a roughing the passer penalty which looked to have stopped the Bears. However because of the penalty, Bears quarterback Jay Cutler found tight end Zach Miller for 19 yard touchdown pass to give the Bears a 6-0 lead, Connor Barth missed the extra point.
The Giants answered right back on the next drive. Quarterback Eli Manning found running back Rashad Jennings for 16 yards and wide receiver Sterling Sheppard for 15 to get the Giants down to the Bears 2 yard line. Jennings then ran it in for the touchdown to tie the game at 6-6, Robbie Gould missed the extra point as well.
The Bears then got a good 40 yard kickoff return from Deonte Thompson that brought the Bears to their own 39 yard line. Cutler then found Miller at the Giants 26 for a 34 yard pass. However, the drive stalled and the Bears had to settle for a Barth field goal that gave the Bears a 9-6 lead at the end of the 1st quarter.
After a 3 and out by the Giants, Cutler found wide receiver Cameron Meredith for 16 yards to the Giants 38. On 2nd down, running back Jordan Howard ran for 27 yard to the Giants 7 to set up 1st and goal. Jeremy Langford then ran it in on 2nd and goal at the 1 to give the Bears a 16-6 lead.
Rashad Jennings and the Giants then came back with an answer on the next drive. Manning found Jennings for passes of 12 and 10 yards. Meanwhile, Jennings rushed for 21 yards. This set up a Robbie Gould for a 46 yard field goal which was converted to cut the lead to 16-9 at the half.
On the opening kickoff of the second half, Dwayne Harris returned the ball 46 yards to the Giants 44 yard line. Manning would then connect with wide receivers Shepard for 12 yards and Odell Beckham Jr. for 20 yards to get the Giants down to the Bears 9 yard line. Manning then found tight end Will Tye for the 9 yard touchdown pass to tie the game 16-16.
After a quick 3 and out by the Bears, the Giants got the ball back on their own 21. Manning then threw a deep pass to wide receiver Victor Cruz who hauled it in for a 48 yard pass play. Manning would then hook up with Sheppard for a 15 yard touchdown pass to give the Giants their first lead 22-16, Gould missed the extra point.
After both teams traded punts, the Bears had a chance to cut the score to 3. Cutler found Meredith for 18 yards. Then Cutler found Howard who then scampered off for 22 yards near the end of the 3rd quarter. However, the drive stalled after Vernon got Langford for a 7 yard loss. Barth then missed a 51 yard field goal.
The Bears had one last chance near the end of the 4th. Cutler threw a deep pass to Marquess Wilson for 35 yards. Cutler then threw a deep 30 yard pass to wide receiver Josh Bellamy to get down to the Giants 30 yard line at the 2 minute warning. However on the next play, Pierre-Paul sacked Cutler causing the ball to come out but recovered by the Bears. The Bears faced a 2nd and 29 at the Giants 49 when Cutler threw a deep pass to Wilson. However, safety Landon Collins intercepted the pass to secure the Giants 22-16 victory.
Landon Collins picks off another as the Giants enjoys a phenomenal season and Giants win.
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With the win, the Giants improved to 7-3 with them still a game up on the Washington Redskins for the top wild card spot. They also trail the Cowboys by 2 games for the top spot in the NFC East. As for the Bears, they fell to 2-8 with their playoff hopes pretty much gone. Next up, the Bears face the 5-6 Tennessee Titans. Meanwhile, the Giants face the worse team in the NFL, the 0-11 Cleveland Browns next Sunday.
