The New York Giants (2-8) and Chicago Bears (4-6) will square off on Sunday in Week 12.

The Giants opened the week as 6.5-point road underdogs, and the spread hasn’t changed as of Saturday morning.

With this matchup on tap, Giants Wire took the opportunity to hold a Q&A with Bears Wire managing editor Alyssa Barbieri.

Giants Wire: When pouring over the individual statistics, Khalil Mack appears to be having a down year in comparison to some of his more numerically successful seasons in recent years. However, after watching some film it’s clear that offenses are simply building an entire game plan around him, often double- and triple-teaming him. How can the Bears go about freeing Mack up a bit and positioning him to re-emerge as the same game-breaker we’re used to?

Alyssa Barbieri: Surely the Bears would like to have defensive tackle Akiem Hicks back in the lineup (he’s eligible to return in Week 15). Typically when teams double- and triple-team Mack, they free up other players to attack, Hicks being the primary beneficiary of that. If other players can take advantage of the focus on Mack — Leonard Floyd being a player that needs to utilize those one-on-one matchups — the offense will have to account for them at the expense of one less man on Mack. But even when Mack is absent in the box score, as he was last Sunday against the Rams, he’s still making an impact on the field freeing up other guys or bringing pressure but not ultimately getting there.

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