Giants fall to Bears: Winners, losers and those in between

The New York Giants fell to 2-9 with a 19-14 loss to the Chicago Bears in Week 12, and here’s a look at the winners and losers from that game.

The New York Giants lost their seventh consecutive game on Sunday, falling to the Chicago Bears, 19-14, at Solder Field in what may have been the ugliest display of football all season (if not longer).

The Giants did have a chance to pull off a miracle at the end, but Daniel Jones was unable to channel his inner Eli Manning and watched as his final fourth-down attempt fell harmlessly to the ground.

Here’s a look at Sunday’s winners and losers (and those in between):

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Winners

Julian Love: Love wasn’t just eased into the defensive rotation, he was straight-up thrown into the fire. The results? They were largely positive. While it wasn’t perfect, Love made several key plays, including his first career interception off the arm of Mitchell Trubisky. He also made two other potential touchdown-saving plays.

Markus Golden: On a defense that simply doesn’t play well at all, Golden continues to make his presence felt and Sunday was no different. Not only did Golden record another sack, he added several other pressures and a couple batted balls at the line of scrimmage. He also came up with a huge 3rd-and-1 stop late in the fourth quarter, giving the Giants an opportunity for a last-minute win.

Riley Dixon: It’s a sad day when a punter is one of the few players to appear in the “winners” column, but here we are. But don’t let that be a reflection of Dixon himself, who had quite a day, averaging 51.4 yards per punt with four being downed inside the 20.

Others: Golden Tate, Jabrill Peppers

Giants lose seventh straight game, fall to Bears, 19-14

The New York Giants fell to 2-9 on the season after losing their seventh consecutive game, this time to the Chicago Bears, 19-14.

The New York Giants returned from their bye week on Sunday and took the field against the Chicago Bears looking to end their six-game losing streak and delay their playoff elimination for at least one more week. And with jobs very much on the line, there was obviously something to play for.

However, when you pit two bad teams against each other, guess what you get? Bad football. And that’s exactly what a regional audience saw in Week 12.

The Giants and Bears started about as slowly as two teams could, exchanging three punts to open the game with neither team gaining more than 18 yards on their respective offensive drives before Mitchell Trubisky finally got things moving for Chicago.

The Bears were engineering a potential scoring drive and had moved inside the Giants’ 20 before Trubisky uncorked an errant throw into the back of the endzone that was picked off by linebacker Alec Ogletree, whose athleticism on the play can not be overstated.

Things settled back down briefly and the two teams again exchanged a series of punts before Daniel Jones finally got things moving in the right direction for Big Blue, connecting with tight end Kaden Smith one a three-yard touchdown to cap off a six-play, 42-yard drive. It was Smith’s first NFL touchdown.

The Giants defense then forced Chicago to a quick three-and-out and Jabrill Peppers nearly broke off a touchdown run on the ensuing punt, but he was brought down by the last line of defense.

With momentum swinging in their direction, the Giants could have gone up two scores, but an ugly third down play (outside toss to Saquon Barkley, who looked like he wanted to throw) led to a 42-yard field goal attempt that sailed wide right as the result of a terrible Zak DeOssie snap.

Eight combined plays later, the Giants were back in field goal range, but for the second time on the day, an Aldrick Rosas field goal sailed wide. This time, the snap was better, but Rosas just pulled it left.

With 1:55 remaining in the half, the Bears finally pieced together a solid drive against a Giants defense that was playing prevent. And while they weren’t able to put the ball into the endzone, they did chip away at the lead, connecting on a 26-yard field goal to bring the game within 7-3 at halftime.

The Bears remained hot to open the third quarter, aided by great field position after Rosas booted the second half kickoff out of bounds. It took just 2:48 to capture their first lead of the game, capping off a five-play, 60-yard drive with a 32-yard touchdown pass from Trubisky to wide receiver Allen Robinson II.

After forcing the Giants to a quick three-and-out, the suddenly dominant Bears offense was back at it and they found a weakness to exploit — rookie cornerback Corey Ballentine.

Trubisky began to follow Ballentine pre-snap and made sure to throw to whatever receiver he was covering, eating up massive chunk plays time after time. However, this time around, Chicago’s offense stalled in the red zone and they were forced to settle for a short field goal, increasing their lead to 13-7 with 7:09 remaining in the third quarter.

On the very next play, Khalil Mack, who had been held in check, finally made his presence felt, skirting around Nate Solder for the strip sack of Jones. And the long-struggling Bears offense again came alive and made the turnover count, running three consecutive plays inside the 5-yard line, culminating with a two-yard touchdown run courtesy of Trubisky. However, Chicago missed the PAT after a bizarre series of penalties, leaving the score at 19-7.

Chicago was quick to get the ball back once again, forcing the Giants to a three-and-out (broken record, anyone?), but this time they weren’t able to put additional points on the board as Trubisky reverted back to his early season form, launching a ball down the middle of the field to no one in particular that was picked off by rookie Julian Love.

No matter, however. The inept Giants offense continued to be exactly that, turning the ball over on downs and once again supplying Chicago an opportunity to essentially put the game away.

But the Bears couldn’t get the job done — a theme of theirs all season — burning just 3:53 off the clock before punting the ball back to the Giants, who appeared poised to let time melt away before a miracle 4th-and-18 touchdown pass from Jones landed in the arms of wide receiver Golden Tate and breathed new life into Big Blue.

With the score 19-14, the Bears once again could have run the clock down and escaped with a win, but were denied when Markus Golden crashed through the line of scrimmage to stop a 3rd-and-1 giving the Giants one final opportunity to drive 94 yards for the win.

Almost immediately, the Giants were faced with another fourth down, but once again, Jones came through, connecting with Darius Slayton to move the chains. However, history would not repeat itself on the next fourth down attempt as Jones’ pass fell harmlessly to the ground, sending the Giants to their seventh consecutive loss.

In defeat, the Giants fall to 2-9 on the season. They will take on the Green Bay Packers at MetLife Stadium in Week 13.

Giants reportedly working out kickers as Aldrick Rosas continues to slump

The New York Giants did not think they needed to replace Pro Bowl PK Aldrick Rosas this soon after his Pro Bowl season but they might have to.

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In 2018, New York Giants placekicker Aldrick Rosas was Pro Bowler, connecting on 32 of 33 field goal attempts and missing just one of his 32 point after attempts.

That was last year. A lot has changed since then. This year, Rosas won’t be going to Orlando, sadly to say. He is mired in a slump that most players at his position go through, and he is not resembling the automatic kicker he was just a season ago.

On Sunday, Rosas missed an extra point attempt wide right in the third quarter. It was the third consecutive game he missed a PAT and fourth straight game with an unsuccessful kick, counting his missed field goal try against the Cardinals in Week 7.

That has reportedly led the Giants to try out some kickers this week during their bye.

Rosas had had only attempted 10 field goals this season, converting on eight. He has converted 19 of 22 PATs.

“Just have to go back to the drawing board,” special team coordinator Thomas McGaughy said of Rosas last week. “It’s a rhythm thing, he’s starting to get more into a rhythm. Sometimes he has a tendency to get a little fast, he gets a little anxious. He has to calm himself down, slow down and go through his mechanics and go through his progressions and not rush through anything. That has been his issue right now, he just has to stay within himself and be himself. He’s a Pro Bowl kicker, the kid has a ton of talent. You have to realize, too, he’s a young player, young players make mistakes and he has to make sure he limits those mistakes.”

The Giants did not think they needed to replace Rosas this soon after his Pro Bowl season and perhaps they won’t. This summer, they brought it just one kicker to challenge him, Joey Slye of Virginia Tech, who they cut at the outset of training camp.

Slye is kicking for the Carolina Panthers this year and has not fared much better that Rosas, missing six of his 22 FG attempts and two PATs.

Giants vs. Jets: Statistics, numbers and broken records

The New York Giants fell to the New York Jets in Week 10 and here’s a look at some of the statistics, numbers and broken records.

The New York Giants were defeated by the New York Jets, 34-27, on Sunday at MetLife Stadium in one of the true lows for Big Blue in decades. It dropped their record to 2-8 on the season and could, potentially, lead to substantial changes.

With the bye week on tap, we’ll have two weeks to evaluate and discuss that, but let’s take a moment to look back before we look ahead.

Here’s a quick look at some of the numbers, statistics and records from Big Blue’s Week 10 loss:

  • With the loss, the Giants have now lost six consecutive games, which is their longest streak of futility since losing seven straight in 2014.
  • The Giants have surrendered at least 27 points nine times this season, which is a league-high. They’ve also surrendered at least 31 points six times, which is tied for the league lead (Buccaneers).
  • The Giants have lost back-to-back games against the Jets for the first time since 1988/1993.
  • With 61 combined points on Sunday, it was the second-highest scoring Giants-Jets game in history (69 total in 1999).
  • The Giants finished with 281 offensive yards, which is the fifth time in their last six games failing to reach the 300-yard mark.
  • Saquon Barkley rushed for a career-low one yard.
  • Barkley has now gone a career-long five games without eclipsing 100 yards rushing.
  • The Giants totaled 23 yards on the ground vs. the Jets, their lowest total since rushing for 23 yards against the Broncos on September 15, 2013.
  • The Giants converted eight third-down attempts on Sunday, which tied a season-high.
  • With his four touchdown passes, Daniel Jones became the first Giants QB with two four-touchdown games since Eli Manning did it in 2010.
  • Jones now has 187 completions on the season, which sets an all-time rookie record for the Giants (Charlie Conerly had 162 in 1948).
  • Darius Slayton and Golden Tate each scored two touchdowns, becoming the first Giants wide receiver tandem with two or more scores a piece since Odell Beckham Jr. and Dwayne Harris did it in 2015.
  • Slayton is the first Giants rookie receiver with two two-touchdown games since Odell Beckham Jr. did it in 2014.
  • The Giants fell behind 14-0 after the first quarter, which is the third time this season they’ve faced that exact deficit after one quarter. It’s also the first time in franchise history they’ve trailed by at least 14 points after the first quarter three times in one season.
  • Early in the third quarter, Jets safety Jamal Adams “recovered” a Daniel Jones fumble and returned it for a touchdown. This is the first time since the 1970 merger the Giants have allowed a defensive touchdown in each of three consecutive games.
  • The Giants have surrendered four defensive touchdowns this season, which is the most they’ve allowed since 2013 (six).
  • Aldrick Rosas missed a PAT for the third consecutive game and has now gone four straight games with at least one PAT or FG miss.
  • The Giants have now lost three consecutive pre-bye week games.
  • Rookie Corey Ballentine made his starting NFL debut in the loss.
  • Tight end Kaden Smith caught his first career pass in the loss.

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