Giants Cannot Afford To Look Past Bears In First Of Consecutive Trap Games
The New York Giants play the first of two consecutive trap games when they meet the Chicago Bears Sunday afternoon at MetLife Stadium.
The Bears enter this matchup with a record of 2-7 and a locker room allegedly in shambles due to the play of quarterback Jay Cutler. The Monsters of the Midway were anything but scary in last week’s 36-10 annihilation at the hands of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Big Blue, on the other hand, has a record of 6-3. The Giants have won four consecutive games by a combined 17 points and currently sit as the No. 5 seed in the NFC Playoffs. When we last saw Big Blue, they handed the Cincinnati Bengals a 21-20 victory on Monday Night Football.
The Giants cannot afford to look past the Bears if they want to continue their march to the postseason. They have gone out of their way to make the Bears’ residence in the NFC North’s basement a non-issue in both the media and inside the locker room.
The Bears have something that no other opponent the Giants have faced this season has: a running back that averages more than five yards a carry.
Jordan Howard, the Bears’ 2016 fifth-round draft pick out of Indiana, is averaging 5.3 yards a carry. This is second to the Miami Dolphins’ Jay Ajayi. Howard is averaging more yards than league leader Ezekiel Elliott of the Dallas Cowboys (5.1).
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Howard has 605 yards rushing, second to Elliott’s 1,005 among rookies. He stepped in after an injury to running back Jeremy Langford. Even Langford returned, Howard remained the Bears’ starter. The Giants are well aware of Howard’s ability.
“He is a good running back,” defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul said. “Fast cuts, quick decision making in that backfield, downhill runner. He runs a lot on the outside. You have to be patient with him.”
Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo also sang Howard’s praises
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“I’m going to tell you what, that running back is as good as I’ve seen all year,” Spagnuolo said.
In spite of Howard’s rushing prowess, the Giants come into this game as an overwhelming favorite. The suspension of wide receiver Alshon Jeffery for performance enhancing drugs further tips the scales in Big Blue’s favor.
The Bears are a dangerous opponent for one simple reason: they have nothing to lose. Their postseason hopes are done though they are still mathematically in the race. They can play with a reckless abandon that comes with knowing that they will head home after Week 17.
On the other hand, the Giants have everything to lose. They play in the NFL’s most competitive division (sorry, AFC West). The Cowboys are the NFC’s No. 1 seed. The Giants and Washington Redskins are currently the last two teams in with the Philadelphia Eagles sitting as the 7th seed.
Last week, the NFC East all posted victories. The phrase “take it one game at a time” is a cliché but completely applicable to the Giants over the next two weeks. After this game, they will host the currently winless Cleveland Browns before a slate of games in December that will determine their postseason fate.
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