Giants vs. Bears: Week 12 staff picks and predictions

The Giants Wire staff offers their picks and predictions ahead of a Week 12 game between the New York Giants and Chicago Bears.

The New York Giants (2-8) will take on the Chicago Bears (4-6) at Soldier Field on Sunday in a game that could result in Big Blue’s elimination from the playoffs.

Expert picks are heavily siding with the Bears — 8:2 — with most of those expecting a a very close contest.

How does the Giants Wire staff see this Week 12 battle shaking out? Here’s a look at our picks and score predictions:

Dan Benton: Bears 24, Giants 20

The Bears are terrible offensively, but the Giants defense may just be what the doctor ordered. I know we’d all like to believe this is a game where the defense can excel, but I simply can’t force myself to believe that’s what’s going to happen. Rather, Mitch Trubisky & Co. play their best game in weeks, while the Giants offensive line can’t find a way to stop Kahlil Mack ends up taking things over.

John Fennelly: Giants 20, Bears 17

The losing streak has to end sometime and where better to end than in Chicago where these Bears are struggling to score points? If the Giants and Daniel Jones can play a turnover-free game, they have a really good chance of coming away with a victory on Sunday. But that is asking a lot. They’ll need to have Saquon Barkley at his beastly best and the defense has to start creating some turnovers.

Doug Rush: Bears 27, Giants 24

The Giants return from the bye week and dive into the final six-game stretch of their season against a Bears team struggling to cling onto playoff hopes.

Mitchell Trubisky has been struggling this season and has a lot of Chicago fans demanding for another quarterback to lead the team. Remember, they traded up one spot for him and passed up on both Patrick Mahomes and Deshaun Watson.

On the flip side, the Bears defense is absolutely ferocious and all eyes have to be on where Khalil Mack is on the field at all times.

This game will be a major test for Daniel Jones, especially against a top-ranked defense in Chicago, on the road and in the cold. Which Daniel Jones will show up — the one who throws several touchdowns or the one who has several turnovers in the game?

Lately, it’s been a bit of both. If the one that shows up causing turnovers, the Giants aren’t leaving Chicago with a win. And in this case, the Giants losing streak stretches to seven games.

Tyler Henry: Bears 28, Giants 24

The Giants are coming off a bye and hoping to put an end to their six-game losing streak. The offensive line should have their hands full with the Bears’ pass rush, as the Big Blue offensive line has not played well this year. If the Giants are unable to get anything going on the ground with Saquon Barkley, the offense could really struggle. The Giants will be without their top two tight ends as both have been ruled out.

Defensively the Giants may have on of their best matchups of the year. The Bears offense has really struggled, but I just believe that the Bears are the better team. With back-to-back matchups against NFC North appointments, this losing streak could continue past this Sunday.

Pat Ragazzo: Giants 20, Bears 17

The Giants are facing a struggling Bears team (4-6), whose playoff hopes are currently on life support. The Bears anemic offense (182 passing and 79.9 rushing yards per week), plus the struggles of Mitchell Trubisky are reason enough to believe the Giants could potentially put the nail in the coffin on Chicago’s 2019 campaign. Expect a low-scoring contest, but the Giants will pull out victorious in the end as the Bears are currently in shambles from the top-down.

Kevin Hickey: Bears 20, Giants 18

This is shaping up to be a sloppy game. While the Bears have some semblance of playoff hopes, the Giants are already looking toward the 2020 NFL Draft. Even though this game is winnable for Big Blue, there will be too much to overcome on the road against a tough defense.

Daniel Jones has impressed just about anyone who has watched him play this season. His ball placement, pocket mobility and poise are all plus traits that have Giants fans optimistic of what the future might hold. But his turnover issues will be on full display in this game. The Giants won’t have any answer for Khalil Mack, who is likely to record a strip-sack or two.

The defense should key on David Montgomery while forcing Mitchell Trubisky to throw the ball. Matt Nagy’s offense is forced to feature the rushing attack, which should funnel the defense toward the run. Allen Robinson is likely in for a big game against the Giants secondary. Markus Golden adds another sack while Jabrill Peppers grabs his second interception of the season.

Still, the Giants are 0-3 in their last three road games. The Bears defense is going to win it for Chicago on Sunday.

Mike Moraitis: Bears 20, Giants 16

While I’d like to think the Giants can exploit a suspect Bears run defense, the health of Saquon Barkley concerns me. With him less than 100 percent, the Giants might be forced to win this game through the air and do so without Evan Engram, which plays right into the the strength of the Bears’ defense.

Granted, the Bears are struggling badly offensively, but the Giants’ defense has more ways to be exploited, and in what will be a close, low-scoring game, a less than 100 percent Mitchell Trubisky and the Bears will be able to lean on the run to win.

Serena Burks: Bears 24, Giants 17

These two teams aren’t that far apart in a lot of ways, but the Bears offense will have more luck against the Giants defense than the Giants offense against the Bears defense. The Bears have the eighth-ranked defense in the league and the Giants still haven’t figured out how to keep their offense on the field. They’re going into hostile territory, and Mitchell Trubisky will work hard to get a win after returning from injury.

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Behind Enemy Lines: Week 12 Q&A with Bears Wire

With a Week 12 matchup between the New York Giants and Chicago Bears on tap, we go behind enemy lines for a chat with Bears Wire.

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.

Continue …

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5 reasons Giants could defeat Bears in Week 12

The New York Giants and Chicago Bears square off in Week 12, and here are five reasons Big Blue could come away with the win.

The New York Giants are coming off their bye week and will face a 4-6 Chicago Bears team that suffered a sinking defeat last Sunday night against the Los Angeles Rams.

After capturing the NFC North title in 2018, things have not gone as expected for Matt Nagy, Mitch Trubisky and the Bears this season. While the Bears playoff hopes look bleak, the Giants have not won a game since the end of September as they currently ride a six-game losing streak.

Something has to give in this matchup and although the Giants have had their struggles, the Bear are a mess right now and Big Blue has a chance to officially put their season to bed with a win.

Here are five reasons why the Giants could come out on top in week 12.

Coaching adjustments

If the Giants want to turn their season around, it starts with the coaching staff. Pat Shurmur’s offense has regressed big time in 2019 ranking 23rd in the league scoring only 20.3 points and 322 total yards per game. The offense has seen a major scoring drop off from the 27.7 ppg in the final eight contests of 2018.

Shurmur’s tenure as head coach of the Giants has not started off as planned, going 7-19 in a little under two seasons thus far. If Shurmur hopes to flip the script, he will have had to make the necessary adjustments during the bye week to put his offense in the best position to succeed.

While the Giants have shown the ability to move the ball up-and-down the field, they have struggled in the red zone (14-27, 51%) and on third down conversions (40%). The offense needs to find some consistency and finish drives in the red zone. If Shurmur developed some creative plays designs in Big Blue’s time off, we could see a different offense coming out of the bye.

With the Giants struggles in pass protection this season (13.1 pressures per game, 34 sacks, 81 hits allowed), the team will hopefully be well prepared for the Bears defense, specifically Khalil Mack and Roquan Smith. If they want to keep Jones clean this week, Shurmur will opt to have a tight end/running back chip the edges on passing downs, as well as utilize Wayne Gallman in these situations, as Barkley has struggled. If the tight ends and running backs chip, this could open the door for some delayed routes resulting in a free option in open space.

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Giants vs. Bears: 3 keys to victory in Week 12

There are three things the New York Giants can do to ensure a victory over the Chicago Bears on Sunday and get their third win this season

The New York Giants head to Chicago on Sunday to face the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field, one of the most hostile environments in the NFL.

The Giants’ season has been dismal at best, and while the Bears aren’t faring that much better, it’s still unlikely that Big Blue will make a turnaround this week. That said, there are three things the Giants can do to help ensure a victory.

Stop Khalil Mack

Mack has just one sack over the last six games, and didn’t appear on the stat sheet at all in the Bears’ loss to the Los Angeles Rams last week. Pat Shurmur and Mike Shula had better be watching that film very closely to implement a similar strategy to stop Mack on Sunday.

Double- and triple-teams, extra protection, holding, whatever it takes. The Giants season is a wash, so the goal now is to protect its assets, primarily Daniel Jones. Whatever the offensive line has to do to protect the future of the organization, that’s what needs to happen against the Bears defense this week.

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Flashback Friday: Giants take down Bears in OT in 2018

In our Flashback Friday, we go back just one year to a thrilling overtime game between the New York Giants and Chicago Bears.

One doesn’t have to go back very far in the annals to find the last memorable game between the New York Giants and the Chicago Bears. It was just last Dec. 2, when the Giants edged the Monsters of the Midway, 30-27, in overtime at MetLife Stadium.

The Giants, who led the playoff-bound Bears, 27-17, with 1:49 remaining, allowed Chicago to score 10 points in the final 1:13 to tie the score at 27, forcing overtime.

No one in the building had much confidence the Giants would come away with the victory after blowing a two-score lead, but they did. The Giants received the ball first and drove 49 yards on eight plays to take a 30-27 lead on a 44-yard field goal by Aldrick Rosas.

The Bears then took possession, but the Giants defense made a stand. They forced quarterback Chase Daniel to fumble three times (the Bears recovered them all) and thwarted them on a 4th-and-8 from their own 40 to end the game.

But there were a ton of highlights. This Giants team, which won for the third time in four games, had some life. They were fun to watch, unlike this year’s dreary bunch.

Linebacker Alec Ogletree returned an interception for a touchdown. Wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. threw for a 49-yard touchdown to Russell Shepard and then caught a touchdown pass himself several minutes later.

DID. YOU. SEE. THAT!?! @OBJ launches one 49-yards to Russell Shepard and the #NYGiants take the lead!#ProBowlVote #ProBowlVote #ProBowlVote pic.twitter.com/W1a22KYuFV

— New York Giants (@Giants) December 2, 2018

Giants rookie running back Saquon Barkley rushed for 124 yards on the day, but his signature play of the afternoon was when he hurdled fellow Penn State product Adrian Amos in the open field for a first down.

This week’s contest is probably not going to have the pizzaz of last year’s, but the groundwork is there. Daniel could see action again under center with Mitchell Trubisky (hip) hurting, and Barkley is slowly coming around from the high ankle sprain that has limited him most of the season.

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Giants Coordinator Corner: Preparing for final leg of 2019 season

The New York Giants coordinator met with reporters on Thursday to discuss bye week changes, rookies and preparing for the Chicago Bears.

The New York Giants head to Chicago to face Khalil Mack and the 4-6 Bears on Sunday. On Thursday, their three coordinators update the media on their respective units coming out of the bye week.

Offensive coordinator Mike Shula

The Giants’ battered offensive line will face a talented Bears front on Sunday with Mack leading the way. The coaching staff has been widely criticized for not making adjustments quick enough or not at all.

Shula was asked if he has to do anything special this week with both starting tackles (Nate Solder and Mike Remmers) and tight ends Rhett Ellison and Evan Engram banged up.

“Those guys are really good players, and they’re not the only two that can rush the passer,” Shula said of Mack and linebacker Leonard Floyd. “But yeah, we have to mix our protections. We have to get the ball out. We have to stay out of third and long. As we say, stay ahead of the chains. Stay on schedule. Then whether or not it’s having a guy help chip, as we say.

“But you can’t do it every play, and they know that. They’re good at that. They’re not just good pass rushers. They have good schemes and they understand when you’re trying to keep guys in, it’s harder to throw the ball down field with less guys. It’s going to be a combination of all of those things. We have to be able to make things happen on first and second down. Stay out of third down. Make first downs on first or second down.”

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Throwback Thursday: Remembering ‘Brian’s Song’

In the latest Throwback Thursday, Giants Wire changes things up and remembers “Brian’s Song.”

The New York Giants will play the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field this Sunday, and the Bears will be wearing their uniforms from the 1960s for the game.

The Bears’ helmet back then was a solid navy blue with a simple white “C” on the sides. They added the orange in 1973.

For many who can remember those Bears teams from that decade, Hall of Fame linebacker Dick Butkus’ name and legacy comes up first, but over time there is one story that has prevailed: the friendship between running backs Gale Sayers and Brian Piccolo.

The friendship was depicted in the 1971 television film “Brian’s Song” starring Billy Dee Williams as Sayers and James Caan as Piccolo.

The film resonates to this day. Sayers went on to become a Pro Football Hall of Famer. Piccolo died cancer in 1970 at age 26. The legacy of the film lives on; it was remade, again as a TV movie, in 2001.

Some quick side notes …

Williams’ delivery of the line: “I love Brian Piccolo, and I’d like all of you to love him, too. Tonight, when you hit your knees to pray, please ask God to love him, too,” while accepting a courageous player award during the film is heart-wrenching. I know of no one who has watched this film and not welled up over that line.

Piccolo has had many parks, foundations and schools named in his memory, including a middle school here in Far Rockaway, N.J., in 1972.

The film was based on Sayers’ book, “I Am Third,” which became suggested reading for young adults in many schools across the nation. Sayers’ credo, “The Lord is first, my friends are second, and I am third,” is the where the title of the book derives from.

While Sayers was a first-round pick of the Bears in 1965, Piccolo was an undrafted free agent out of Wake Forest. He spent his first season on the Bears’ taxi squad before breaking the team’s roster in 1966. By 1969, he and Sayers, who was returning from a serious knee injury he suffered the previous season, were the Bears’ starting backfield. Piccolo, who had filled for the injured Sayers, was an integral part in Sayers’ rehabilitation, enabling him to return to form the next season.

In the film, George Halas, portrayed by veteran character actor Jack Warden, is the Bears’ head coach throughout. In reality, Halas left the sideline after 1967 season and inserted Jim Dooley as head coach in ’68.

As for where the Giants fit in here, they actually don’t. In 1965, the Giants had the No. 1 overall selection in the NFL Draft and chose running back Tucker Frederickson. San Francisco picked second, taking fullback Ken Willard. The next two selections belonged to the Bears. The chose Illinois linebacker Dick Butkus and Sayers out of Kansas, in that order.

During the span the film takes place, the Giants and Bears met four times with Chicago winning three, but neither team was much of a factor in the NFL standings after meeting in the 1963 NFL championship game. The Bears would not qualify for the postseason again until 1977, the Giants not until 1981.

In the 1980s the two teams finally got their due. The Bears won Super Bowl XX after the 1985 season, and the Giants captured their first Super Bowl the following year.

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Giants vs. Bears: 6 things to know about Week 12

The New York Giants and Chicago Bears square off on Sunday in Week 12, so here are six things fans should know.

The New York Giants (2-8) head out to Soldier Field to face the Chicago Bears (4-6) in a meeting between two of the NFC’s most disappointing teams this season.

Here are six things to know:

The history

This is the 52nd meeting between two of the NFL’s most iconic franchises dating back to 1925. With a win on Sunday the Giants would improve their all-time record against the Bears to 22-28-2. A victory this week would also improve the Giants’ road record against the Bears to 12-13.

The Giants are making their first trip to Soldier Field since 2013, a 27-21 Bears victory on Thursday Night Football in Week 6.

The teams have met just 18 times since the 1970 NFL-AFL merger and had played only three times between 1970 and the January 5, 1986 NFC Divisional Playoff game in which the Bears shut the Giants out, 21-0, at Soldier Field.

The Giants are 7-5 against the Bears since the teams last met in the postseason — a 31-3 victory in the 1991 NFC Divisional Playoffs.

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Gimme Him: One player Giants would steal from Bears

The New York Giants need pass rushers, they need edge help and they need an identity on defense — enter Khalil Mack.

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The New York Giants will square off with the Chicago Bears in Week 12, providing us an opportunity to raid a brand new 53-man roster in an effort to theoretically find reinforcements for Big Blue in our latest “Gimme Him” segment.

However, when pouring over the Bears’ roster, there are so many names that it’s wildly difficult to choose.

At cornerback, we could look to bring back old friend Prince Amukamara or steal Kyler Fuller. There’s also linebacker Leonard Floyd, right tackle Bobby Massie and wide receiver Allen Robinson II.

Decisions, decisions… Which direction might we go?

All right, enough with the charade. When looking at Chicago’s roster the decision actually isn’t difficult at all — the answer is staring us all right in the face like an elite edge rusher bearing down on an unsuspecting quarterback.

The Giants need pass rushers, they need edge help and they desperately need an identity on defense. Enter weakside linebacker, game-changer and future Hall of Famer, Khalil Mack.

Mack is one of the most dominating defensive presences in the NFL today and over the previous four seasons, has established himself as a game-changing player capable of taking things over and forcing offenses to alter their approach.

No, Mack is not the next Lawrence Taylor, but he dominates in a way the Giants desperately need right now and moving forward. In fact, in looking at their weaknesses and his strengths, it would be a match made in heaven. If only we were actually allowed to steal an opposing player…

Mack would instantly make the Giants defense more formidable, freeing up the secondary a bit by creating consistent pressure on the quarterback. It would also open up opportunities for other linebackers such as Lorenzo Carter and Markus Golden, while taking pressure off of the three down linemen.

What say you, Giants fans? Would you steal Mack from the Bears or lift another player? We feel like that may be a stupid question, but hey… ya never know.

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6 things to watch for over the Giants’ final six games

Here are six things (plus more) to watch over the final six games of the New York Giants’ 2019 regular season.

There’s not a whole lot to root for in these 2-8 New York Giants, but fans will be looking for any signs of life– and hope — in Pat Shurmur’s team over the last six games of this lost 2019 season.

Fans are shedding themselves of as many tickets as they can for the remaining three home games (Week 13 vs. Green Bay, Week 15 vs. Miami and Week 17 vs. Philadelphia) and there won’t be a ton of viewers watching on television, either, as the Giants close out their sixth losing season over the last seven years.

But there are a few things to watch for. I like No. 6, so I narrowed (or expanded) the things to watch to that number for the heck of it.

Pat Shurmur

Is he coaching for his Giants life? It doesn’t look like they’ll better last year’s record of 5-11, but if he can only win two or three of the last six games and the team is still a disorganized mess, do the Giants look to move on?

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