Giants dropped by Bears, 19-14: Instant analysis

Instant analysis of the latest New York Giants loss in which they fell to the Chicago Bears, 19-14, in ugly fashion.

The New York Giants blew into the Windy City this weekend with nothing to lose unlike their opponent — the Chicago Bears — who at 4-6 had a lot to lose.

This was a contest between two teams who have had a boatload of issues between them this season and the flow of the game was choppy from start to finish. For a Week 12 game, it was an undisciplined mess. If these two teams weren’t playing each other they would have embarrassed themselves against a real NFL team.

The Bears had several opportunities early on but penalties, turnovers and drops kept them off the board. The Giants ended up opening the scoring with a three-yard touchdown pass from Daniel Jones to rookie tight end Kaden Smith midway through the second quarter.

Then, Aldrick Rosas’ struggles continued, missing two field goals in the first half, one from 42 yards and the second from 43. Both snaps from Zak DeOssie were errant. The Bears finally got on the board with a field goal with eight seconds left in the first half.

In the second half, after Rosas’ opening kick went out of bounds giving the Bears the ball on their own 40, the Giants’ defense thought they had the Bears stopped when Marcus Golden sacked Mitchell Trubisky on a third-and-10 from the Giants’ 37.

But Giants’ corner Janoris Jenkins was called for holding wide receiver Allen Robinson, negating the sack and giving Chicago a first down on the Giants’ 32. On the very next play, Trubisky found Robinson streaking over the middle past rookie corner Corey Ballentine to give the Bears a 10-7 lead.

The Bears would take control of the game from there, kicking a field goal on their next possession. Then, Bears’ linebacker Khalil Mack blew past Giants left tackle Nate Solder and stripped the football away from Jones. The Bears would take a 19-7 lead after Trubisky punched it in from two yards out.

The Giants next scored with 4:10 remaining when Daniel Jones, on a 4th-and-18 from the Giants’ 23, threw up a desperation pass into the end zone. Golden Tate managed to reel it in to narrow the score to 19-14 which ended up being the final.

In short, the Bears were awful and the Giants were worse. The Giants lost their seventh straight game and are 2-9 after 11 games, one game worse than they were last year at this time.

Notes

  • Safety Jabrill Peppers left the game midway through the third quarter with a hip injury. Rookie Julian Love took his place. Entering the game, Love had only played three defensive snaps all year. He picked off an ill-advised Trubisky pass early in the fourth quarter.
  • Saquon Barkley was not a factor in the game, rushing 17 times for 59 yards and allowing a swing pass to slip through his hands in the first half which would have gone for a huge gain.
  • Jones sustained a cut on his right hand on the Giants’ final possession that may or may not have hindered him as he threw several incompletions as the Giants turned the ball over on downs.
  • The two missed field goals ended up being the difference in the game.
  • The Giants had their first team offensive line intact after missing some time due to injury. Jon Halapio was back at center while the two tackles – Nate Solder and Mike Remmers — also both started.

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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):

Stacy Revere/Getty Images

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

Shepard, Jenkins, Solder clear concussion protocol, will play Sunday vs Bears

New York Giants wide receiver Sterling Shepard has cleared the NFL’s concussion protocol and will play this Sunday against the Chicago Bears.

New York Giants wide receiver Sterling Shepard has cleared the NFL’s concussion protocol and will play this Sunday against the Chicago Bears.

Cornerback Janoris Jenkins and Nate Solder were also cleared and are ready to go as the 2-8 Giants attempt to snap their six-game losing streak.

Shepard was recovering from his second concussion this season and had not played since the Giants’ Week 5 loss to the Minnesota Vikings. Jenkins and Solder were both concussed ring the Giants’ Week 10 loss to the Jets and recovered over the bye week.

Shepard’s return gives rookie quarterback Daniel Jones his full complement of wide receivers this week, but as fate would have it, tight end Evan Engram (foot) will miss another game as will TE Rhett Ellison (concussion).

In his four starts this season, Shepard was targeted 34 times, catching 25 of them for 267 yards and a touchdown. He also rushed four times for 42 yards. It will only be the second game this season that Shepard and Golden Tate will be on the field simultaneously.

Giants’ Evan Engram, Rhett Ellison out vs. Bears

New York Giants tight ends Evan Engram and Rhett Ellison are out for Sunday’s game against the Chicago Bears.

The New York Giants have clung to the hope that tight end Evan Engram (foot) would make his return against the Chicago Bears in Week 12, but those dreams were dashed on Friday.

Although Engram did not suffer a setback, he simply wasn’t able to get the required clearance and will be an injured inactive on Sunday alongside fellow tight end Rhett Ellison, who was also ruled out with a concussion.

In the absence of Engram and Ellison, the Giants will rely on Scott Simonson, Kaden Smith and possibly Garrett Dickerson, who currently resides on the practice squad.

“[Simonson] came back in really good shape, physical shape. Mentally, he’s done a nice job getting caught up to speed in terms of what we’re doing now. It really helps having a guy that has been here kind of knowing what we do and how we do things. It was good to have him come back,” tight ends coach Lunda Wells told reporters on Friday.

In some much-needed good news, wide receiver Sterling Shepard, left tackle Nate Solder and cornerback Janoris Jenkins did not receive an injury designation, which means all three are likely to clear concussion protocol on Friday night or at some point early on Saturday prior to traveling to Chicago.

All three will meet with the independent neurologist before being cleared.

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Giants injury report: Rhett Ellison unlikely to play vs. Bears

New York Giants tight ends Rhett Ellison (concussion) and Evan Engram (concussion) are unlikely to play against the Bears in Week 12.

Prior to practice on Thursday, New York Giants head coach Pat Shurmur revealed that tight end Rhett Ellison (concussion) would not participate and is unlikely to be cleared in time for Sunday’s game against the Chicago Bears.

As the team’s best blocking tight end, that creates problems for the Giants which are likely to be compounded by the absence Evan Engram (foot), who also sat out of practice on Thursday.

If both Engram and Ellison are unable to play, the Giants will lean on Scott Simonson, Kaden Smith and potentially the recently re-signed Garrett Dickerson, who currently resides on the practice squad.

Meanwhile, left tackle Nate Solder (concussion) appeared to be a limited participant in the portion of practice open to the media, but was given a full participation designation by the team.

Finally, cornerback Janoris Jenkins (concussion) and wide receiver Sterling Shepard (concussion) were once again practicing in full and remain on track to potentially play on Sunday.

Here’s a look at the team’s official injury report for Thursday:

Did not participate: TE Evan Engram (foot) and TE Rhett Ellison (concussion)

Limited participant: N/A

Full participant: LT Nate Solder (concussion), C Jon Halapio (hamstring), CB Janoris Jenkins (concussion), RT Mike Remmers (back) and WR Sterling Shepard (concussion)

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Giants injury report: Evan Engram misses practice again

The New York Giants returned to practice on Monday, but were without tight ends Evan Engram and Rhett Ellison.

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The New York Giants are hopeful that tight end Evan Engram (foot) returns in Week 12 against the Chicago Bears, but early indications are not yielding much optimism.

Engram was not on the field during Monday’s practice, telling reporters afterwards that he had an initial 2-to-4 week recovery timetable and that he had only just shed his boot, but remained encouraged by his progress.

“[A return] this week, towards the end of this week, that’s the plan. Just keep building on that,” Engram said. “It’s definitely possible, I feel good. We’ll see where we’re at (in the) middle to the end of this week. I’m staying locked in in meetings, game plans and stuff like that, that’s very important as well. I think as long as I stay prepared mentally and continue to do what I do with my foot, I could be ready to go.”

In the 48 hours since Engram shed his boot, there haven’t been many forward strides. In fact, Engram remained sidelined on Wednesday during the media portion of practice, putting his Sunday return in jeopardy.

In addition to Engram, fellow tight end Rhett Ellison (concussion) was limited to individual drills off on the side, leaving Big Blue exceptionally thin at the position.

On the plus side of things, offensive linemen Nate Solder (concussion/personal matter), Jon Halapio (hamstring) and Mike Remmers (back) all appeared to be practicing in full.

Ditto wide receiver Sterling Shepard and cornerback Janoris Jenkins, who appear to be nearing an exit from concussion protocol but have not been cleared as of yet.

We will share the full injury report below when the Giants release it later this afternoon.

Did not participate: TE Evan Engram (foot) and TE Rhett Ellison (concussion)

Limited participant: LT Nate Solder (concussion)

Full participant: C Jon Halapio (hamstring), CB Janoris Jenkins (concussion), RT Mike Remmers (back) and WR Sterling Shepard (concussion)

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Giants practice report: Evan Engram remains sidelined

The New York Giants returned to practice on Monday and just about everyone was a go other than TE Evan Engram (foot).

The New York Giants returned to practice on Monday ahead of the team’s Week 12 game against the Chicago Bears, and while there won’t be an official injury report until Wednesday, we were able to test the pulse on several injured players.

On the positive side of things, cornerback Janoris Jenkins (concussion), wide receiver Sterling Shepard (concussion), right tackle Mike Remmers (back) and center Jon Halapio (hamstring) were all on the field and participating.

Additionally, tight end Rhett Ellison (concussion) was working on the sideline with a trainer while rookie offensive lineman George Asafo-Adjei, who is on injured reserve with a concussion, was spotted riding a stationary bike for the first time in months.

Unfortunately, not all was positive on the injury front as tight end Evan Engram (foot) remained sidelined and unable to practice despite coming off of the team’s bye week.

Finally, offensive lineman Nate Solder was not at practice. The team said he was excused for a personal matter and is expected to return this week.

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What are the Giants doing to help DeAndre Baker?

New York Giants CB DeAndre Baker is among the worst in football and his hole is only getting deeper, so what is the team doing to help?

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New York Giants rookie cornerback DeAndre Baker is out on an island right now and not the kind of island Darrelle Revis was on, either.

Baker’s island is a deserted one. He’s more like Tom Hanks in the movie “Castaway,” left for dead with no help in sight.

The Giants’ defense is devoid of leadership at the moment as their lineup is stocked with rookies and younger players and the veterans on their team are struggling themselves, so their ability to lead has been compromised.

Baker is being asked to do things that go against the grain of his talent. When the Giants traded up to select Baker with the 30th overall selection, they were getting a quality press corner who used his stickiness and cover skills to shut down receivers.

The Giants’ defensive scheme under coordinator James Bettcher has Baker playing in zones and in soft coverage models where he’s 8-to-10 yards off the line of scrimmage instead of confronting wideouts within five yards.

If they are going to get the most out of this promising youngster, they must meet him halfway and get him some help. Former Giant great and current radio analyst Carl Banks agrees.

Baker has admitted he is having issues grasping Bettcher’s defense and it is showing in his performance. He is ranked at the very bottom of the league at his position after giving up a slew of huge plays this season.

Then, there is the surrender factor. Baker is so screwed up, he appears to give up on some plays as if he’s given up trying to figure things out, which is what Lawrence Tynes was addressing in his tweet prior to Banks’ reply.

The Giants were hoping that veteran Janoris Jenkins would assist in grooming Baker, Sam Beal, Corey Ballentine and Julian Love, but he’s been dealing with his own issues. He was rumored to be on the trading block last month, so his mind was not on developing talent here.

Will the Giants reach back and hire that “tutor” for Baker and the others that Banks suggests or just continue on to shrug their shoulders each time the defense gets torched?

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Giants’ Janoris Jenkins, Rhett Ellison and Nate Solder all in concussion protocol

The injuries continue to mount for the New York Giants as they placed three players in the concussion protocol after their loss to the New York Jets on Sunday. The #Giants announce Rhett Ellison joins Nate Solder and Janoris Jenkins in the …

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The injuries continue to mount for the New York Giants as they placed three players in the concussion protocol after their loss to the New York Jets on Sunday.

Solder exited the game in the second quarter and was replaced by Eric Smith. Ellison was removed from the game in the third quarter and was spelled by rookie Kaden Smith. Jenkins left the game in the fourth quarter and Sam Beal took over for him.

These three are all in addition to wide receiver Sterling Shepard, who has been in the protocol for several weeks.

Head coach Pat Shurmur said running back Saquon Barkley was “fine” after going for x-rays after the game.

“I don’t know how you’re going to write it, but I saw him today and he said he was feeling a lot better,” said Shurmur.

When asked if the Giants were considering shutting Barkley down for the season Shurmur was firm.

“Absolutely not,” he said.

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