Week 10 Game Recap: Chicago Bears 38, New York Giants 20

What you need to know

Chicago Bears

Chicago looked hapless over nearly the entire first half of the game. Their fortunes changed on one play, a draw by Thomas Jones that earned a first down on a third and 22 late in the second quarter. The Bears responded with 35 points, including 28 in the second half, to dominate the New York Giants and claim the top of the NFC for themselves.

Quarterback Rex Grossman started poorly. He threw an interception on his second pass of the game that led directly to New York’s first score. He settled into an excellent groove in the second half, and threw three touchdown passes. His favorite targets were receivers Muhsin Muhammad and Mark Bradley. Bradley saw extensive playing time with starter Bernard Berrian out with sore ribs. Both receivers scored a touchdown. Grossman’s other touchdown went to tight end Desmond Clark.

Thomas Jones proved to be the Bears’ offensive workhorse with his 33 touches providing the offensive spark the team needed to get out of their first half funk. He finished the game with 123 total yards and one touchdown rushing.

The Bears’ defense gave up most of their points in the first half, and tightened up in the second. They intercepted Eli Manning twice, sacked him twice, and forced two fumbles, one of which they recovered.

Kicker Robbie Gould lived up to his name, remaining perfect on the year. He was made his lone field goal attempt of 49 yards and all five of his PATs.

Devin Hester tied teammate Nathan Vasher’s record with a 108 yard missed field goal return for a touchdown in the fourth quarter.

New York Giants

Despite appearing to dominate the game throughout the first half, the Giants gave up a decisive victory to the Chicago Bears. After effectively shutting down the Bears’ offense for the first 28 minutes of the game, they proceeded to give up 35 points over the last 32—an amount they couldn’t overcome.

Eli Manning had a rough game, as he completed less than 50% of his passes and threw two interceptions and no touchdowns. He frequently fired the ball high and off target. With wide receiver Amani Toomer out for the year with a torn ACL, Manning heavily targeted Plaxico Burress and David Tyree. No Giants’ player had more than four catches or 48 yards.

Tiki Barber had another excellent game running the football, although he went through a rough stretch through the middle parts of the game after he sprained a ligament in his right thumb. He had a long run of 46 yards, but no touchdowns. Brandon Jacobs had a good game in his short yardage duty, running for touchdowns on both of his carries.

The Giants’ defense shut down the Bears over the majority of the first half of the game, and then proceeded to implode. They came into the game with several injuries affecting key portions of their starting defense, and seemed to be handling them well. Sam Madison was the next Giants’ defender to get hurt, as he left the game in the first half. The lack of depth eventually caught up to the Giants, as they gave up 35 points over the last 32 minutes of the game. Cornerback Corey Webster had a particularly rough game, as he was regularly abused by Rex Grossman and the Bears’ receivers.

Kicker Jay Feely had a tough game, missing two field goals, including one that was returned 108 yards for a score.

What you ought to know

QB Rex Grossman, Pass: 18 - 30 - 246 - 3 TD / 1 INT, Rush: 3 - -2 - 0

Grossman had a rough start, but overcame it to have an excellent overall performance. He preferred his wide receivers as primary targets, throwing touchdowns to both Muhsin Muhammad and Mark Bradley. Grossman didn’t target tight end Desmond Clark as much as usual, but did hit him for a touchdown in the fourth quarter. His lone interception was targeted for Rashied Davis but was intercepted by defensive lineman Mathias Kiwanuka. It led directly to the Giants’ first touchdown. Grossman was sacked twice and fumbled the ball once, but it was recovered by a teammate.

RB Thomas Jones, Rush: 30 - 113 - 1, Rec: 3 - 10 - 0 (3 targets)

Jones turned around what looked to be a poor rushing day on one play. With the Bears deep in their own territory with a third and 22, he took the handoff on a draw play and scampered left for 26 yards. Jones proceeded to be the Bears’ offensive workhorse, finishing with 123 total yards and one rushing touchdown on 33 touches. Jones had a touchdown called back on a offensive holding penalty. He was stripped of the ball late in the first quarter, which led to a Giants’ field goal.

RB Cedric Benson, Rush: 6 - 7 - 0, Rec: 1 - -1 - 0 (1 targets)

Benson didn’t do anything with his handful of touches. His longest run was seven yards, but he had several runs for losses as well.

RB Jason McKie, Rec: 1 - 7 - 0 (2 targets)

McKie was targeted by Grossman as a check down option out of the backfield in the first half.

WR Muhsin Muhammad, Rec: 7 - 123 - 1 (12 targets)

Muhammad was far and away Grossman’s favorite target. He led the Bears in receptions and receiving yards, and scored a ten yard touchdown in the third quarter. Muhammad had another chance to score but fumbled the ball at the Giants’ one yard line.

WR Mark Bradley, Rec: 4 - 79 - 1 (7 targets)

Bradley had season highs in targets, receptions, yards, and touchdowns (one). He was Grossman’s second favorite targets, and was thrown to deep on several occasions.

WR Rashied Davis, Rec: 1 - 26 - 0 (5 targets)

Davis’ only catch came late in the third quarter. Additionally, he ran back kickoffs for the Bears.

WR Bernard Berrian

Berrian missed the game with sore ribs.

TE Desmond Clark, Rec: 1 - 2 - 1 (2 targets)

Clark was only targeted twice, but his second look was good for a two yard touchdown.

TE John Gilmore (1 targets)

Gilmore didn’t catch a pass. He was called for offensive holding that negated a Thomas Jones touchdown run. The drive ended in a Muhsin Muhammad receiving touchdown.

PK Robbie Gould 1 - 1 FG, 5 - 5 XP, 8 points

Gould remained perfect for the season, connecting on his lone field goal attempt of 49 yards. He made all five of his PATs.

CHI Rush Defense

Chicago’s rush defense gave up 150 yards and two rushing scores. They didn’t contain Tiki Barber and Brandon Jacobs, but they also didn’t allow them to dictate the game.

CHI Pass Defense

The Bears’ pass defense was spectacular, limiting Eli Manning to only 121 yards on 44% passing. They allowed no touchdowns and had two interceptions. Additionally, the pass rush sacked Eli Manning twice, forcing three Manning fumbles, one of which they recovered.

QB Eli Manning, Pass: 14 - 32 - 121 - 0 TD / 2 INT, Rush: 1 - 0 - 0

Manning had an off game. His accuracy was wildly inconsistent, and contributed heavily to his 44% completion rate. Manning threw no touchdowns and two interceptions. The interceptions were deep passes to Plaxico Burress and Tim Carter, but both were off target. He threw double-digit looks to both Burress and wide receiver David Tyree. Manning fumbled the ball three times, but only lost one of them. He was sacked twice. It was by far Manning’s worst performance of the year.

RB Tiki Barber, Rush: 19 - 141 - 0, Rec: 3 - 16 - 0 (4 targets)

Barber started the game red hot, gaining 40 yards on the Giants’ opening drive, including runs of 18 and 21 yards. It was the reported that he had sprained his right thumb, and he suffered a cold spell as he appeared uncomfortable both holding and running with the ball. Barber got back on track in the second half, but left the game for good about half way through the fourth quarter. He still managed to have a excellent game, even without scoring a touchdown. Barber gained 141 yards on his 19 carries for an average of 7.4 yards per carry.

RB Brandon Jacobs, Rush: 2 - 9 - 2

Jacobs has two rushes for two touchdowns. He was basically untouched on both plays, and is proving to be a very capable goal line back.

WR Plaxico Burress, Rec: 4 - 48 - 0 (13 targets)

Burress was the most targeted receiver for the Giants. Unfortunately, a lot of the balls that came his way were off target. Despite his low number, Burress led the Giants in receptions and receiving yards. He was the target on Manning’s first interceptions.

WR David Tyree, Rec: 4 - 38 - 0 (11 targets)

Tyree had a season high number of targets, but could only catch four of them.

WR Tim Carter (1 targets)

Carter’s only target was Manning’s second interception.

WR Amani Toomer

Toomer missed the game (and will miss the rest of the season) with a torn acl.

TE Visanthe Shiancoe, Rec: 2 - 4 - 0 (2 targets)

Shiancoe caught both of his looks but only managed four total yards.

TE Jeremy Shockey, Rec: 1 - 15 - 0 (2 targets)

Shockey didn’t receive any targets until the second half. His first catch of the game temporarily sparked the Giants’ offense, leading to their only score of the second half. Shockey appears to have the ability to be an emotional leader for the Giants.

PK Jay Feely 2 - 4 FG, 2 - 2 XP, 8 points

Despite making two field goals of over 40 or more yards, it is Feely’s two misses that hurt the Giants. He missed a 33 yard field goal on the opening possession of the game, making the Giants come up empty-handed on a promising and productive first drive. His second miss, from 52 yards, turned into a NFL record-tying touchdown return by rookie return man Devon Hester.

NYG Rush Defense

The Giants shut down Thomas Jones in the early part of the game, but ended up giving up 118 total yards and one touchdown. Once Chicago went up in the second half, they consistently gave up rushing first downs that allowed the Bears to control the pace and style of the game. They did force one fumbled by Thomas Jones, as Corey Webster stripped him of the ball.

NYG Pass Defense

The pass defense was solid in the early going, but eventually gave way to three touchdowns and 246 yards. Defensive lineman Mathias Kiwanuka made the only interception of the game, which led to the Giants’ first touchdown. They sacked Grossman twice and forced a lost fumble by Muhsin Muhammad near the goal line.