Injuries Mount as Giants Fall to Bears 38-20: Not only did the Giants lose an important game 38-20 to the Chicago Bears last night at the Meadowlands, but the injury bug continued. LT Luke Petitgout broke his left fibula. Depending on the severity of the injury, Petitgout could be lost for the remainder of the season. In addition, CB Sam Madison re-injured his hamstring that caused him to miss the past two games.
At 6-3, the Giants are now only one game ahead of both the 5-4 Eagles and 5-4 Cowboys in the NFC East.
As for the game, an undermanned Giants’ defense that was missing four starters, played very well for most of the first half, leading the Giants to a 13-3 lead late in the second quarter. The big problem for the Giants for most of the game was a sputtering offense, especially passing game. QB Eli Manning was a dismal 14-of-32 for 121 yards, no touchdowns, and two interceptions. The Giants had an embarrassing 99 net passing yards on the evening. “It is very disappointing,” said Manning after the game. “I think in the first half we had the opportunity to take advantage of some good field position and turnovers by our defense. We need to get touchdowns in those situations. We knew we were going against a tough defense. We had an opportunity to get an early lead but we got field goals instead of touchdowns and then missed field goals. We had some missed opportunities and too many mistakes, a lot on my part. We need to figure out a way to get better and I have to play better football.”
The Giants moved the ball well on opening series of the game, but New York came away with no points as PK Jay Feely missed a 33-yard field goal. The defense immediately got the ball back as DE Mathias Kiwanuka intercepted a QB Rex Grossman pass and returned it 32 yards down to the Bears’ 1-yard line. HB Brandon Jacobs scored on the next play and the Giants had an early 7-0 lead.
The Bears drove into Giants’ territory on their second possession of the game but were forced to punt. However, Manning tried to hit WR Plaxico Burress deep on the first play of the ensuing Giants’ drive and this pass was intercepted and returned to the Giants’ 45-yard line. The defense did not allow a yard, but a roughing-the-passer penalty gave the Bears just enough yardage to set up a successful 49-yard field goal. The Giants now led 7-3.
The Giants’ offense really struggled on the next two possessions, going three-and-out on both. The Giants’ defense also forced a punt, and then forced their second turnover of the game as HB Thomas Jones fumbled and SS Gibril Wilson recovered at the Bears’ 31-yard line. The Giants could not pick up one first down, but Feely did hit the 46-yard field goal try to give the Giants a 10-3 advantage. The Giants’ defense then continued to play well, forcing two three-and-outs by the Bears. Yet offensively the Giants did not take advantage of their fine defensive play. Even when the special teams unit set up the offense again with a 36-yard punt return down to the Bears’ 31-yard line, New York only managed one first down and settled for yet another field goal. 13-3 Giants.
The game really changed on the Bears’ final possession of the first half. Facing a 3rd-and-22 from their own 28-yard line with 1:30 to go, the Bears ran a draw play to Jones that picked up 26 yards. This kept alive a drive that soon resulted in a 29-yard scoring pass by Grossman. Despite dominating much of the first half defensively, the Giants now only led by a field goal, 13-10.
The defense continued to soften in the second half. The Bears drove down field on their first possession and looked primed to score, but CB Corey Webster forced a fumble that was recovered by FS Will Demps at the Giants’ own 2-yard line. The Giants could not move the ball and were forced to punt deep out of their end zone. The Bears then put together a 6-play, 43-yard drive that resulted in a 10-yard touchdown pass that gave Chicago their first lead of the game, 17-13.
Matters got much worse very quickly. LT Bob Whitfield, who was subbing for the injured Petitgout and who struggled much of the evening, gave up a sack on a play where Manning was also stripped of the ball. The Bears recovered at the Giants’ 21-yard line and four plays later, the Bears were up 24-13 as Grossman fired his third touchdown pass of the game.
When all looked lost, the Giants mounted an impressive drive to respond. Manning found Shockey for 15 yards on 3rd-and-10 (oddly, it was Shockey’s only reception of the night as he didn’t appeared to be involved in the Giants’ offensive game plan). Then HB Tiki Barber broke off his biggest run of the season 46 yards down to the Bears’ 8-yard line. On the next snap, Jacobs scored untouched from eight yards out to cut the deficit to 24-20.
The Bears drove into Giants’ territory on their next possession, but the defense held as DT Fred Robbins sacked Grossman on 3rd-and-9. The Giants then moved the ball to the Bears’ 29-yard line before another sack and forced fumble caused a 14-yard loss (again, Whitfield was the culprit). After a 9-yard run and an incomplete pass, Head Coach Tom Coughlin gambled on a 52-yard field goal attempt in adverse weather conditions instead of trying to pin the Bears with a punt. The kick fell short. Disaster then struck as the Bears’ Devin Hester returned the missed field goal 108 yards for a touchdown, giving the Bears a 31-20 advantage. “I probably would have downed it if I saw defenders coming at me,” said Hester. “It seemed like all of them were walking off the field like it was over. So I decided to take it out. It surprised me.”
“It was a tough kick, a 52-yarder into the wind,” said Feely. “I felt like I could make it. The coach asked me. And I told him that I could make. I made a 53 going that way in warm-ups. I thought I hit it well. I thought I made it when I hit it. Then it just fluttered and died. We practice covering on those long kicks because you know that in this stadium it is going to happen. Hester is just fast and he’s a great return man. He took off on that right side and just had a convoy. It hurts. We had two plays that really decided that game. On the third-and-22, they hit a draw and got a first down in the first half which really got them back in the game and then the field goal return.”
“We practice that a lot,” said Long Snapper Ryan Kuehl. “(The coaches) have us doing that almost weekly – covering a long kick. With the winds around here, you are never quite sure what is going to happen with the ball once it gets up there. Hester is a real fast, talented guy. He got on the edge and had a bunch of lineman in there to protect him. It makes it a little tougher to cover than a punt. I snapped it, I heard the kick and I looked up. I saw him down there and I saw him put his hands up like he was getting ready to catch it. I thought I had better get down there, because there are not many guys that are going to catch him. He had too much room. David (Tyree) and I were down there. Once he got to the edge they had a wall set up and it was pretty much over from there.”
“It was my decision to go for the field goal, and from that point on we were behind the eight-ball,” Coughlin said. “It’s very difficult to cover field goals because…the people are not obviously the kind of people that do coverage for you. Two ends, two wings – the two wings were okay. One of the risks you take is that you know the coverage isn’t going to be that good. The field goal is short and…again that’s my call and no one else’s.”
With Just over 11 minutes to go in the game, New York trailed by 11. Manning’s next three passes were incomplete, incomplete, and then intercepted as he badly overthrew WR Tim Carter. Grossman then completed a 38-yard pass against Webster, who struggled in coverage much of the evening, down to the Giants’ 7-yard line. Three plays later the Bears were up 38-20. Manning continued to misfire on the Giants’ last possession of the game. The Giants punted and Chicago impressively ran out the clock despite the fact that there was just under seven minutes to go in the game.
Post-Game Notes: HB Derrick Ward returned kickoffs in the game.
DT William Joseph started at left defensive end.
The Giants inactive players were DE Michael Strahan (foot), DE Osi Umenyiora (hip flexor), DE Justin Tuck (foot), LB Brandon Short (quad), LB Carlos Emmons (groin), CB Frank Walker, WR Sinorice Moss (quad), and QB Tim Hasselbeck (third quarterback).
Giants Place Toomer on IR; Sign LB Tyson Smith from Practice Squad: The Giants officially placed WR Amani Toomer on Injured Reserve on Saturday, effectively ending his 2006 NFL season. Toomer was diagnosed with a partially torn ACL in his left knee earlier this week.
To fill Toomer’s roster spot, the team has signed LB Tyson Smith off of their Practice Squad.