BEARS 17 - GIANTS 13
When running back Saquon Barkley rolled awkwardly on his left arm and appeared to at least badly hyper-extend his elbow, Giants' fans couldn't help but take a deep breath and hope their star running back would be alright.
When play resumed at the start of the second quarter, Barkley was back on the field for the Giants, and Big Blue quickly went back to him on a hand-off to the right for six yards. As he was tackled Barkley landed poorly, rolled over clutching his knee. It did not look good, and the prognosis even worse.
The Giants fear that Barkley, who had to be carted off the field, suffered a torn ACL and will miss the rest of the season. This coming off a week where the former Pro Bowler had just six yards on 15-carries in week 1. The Giants were hoping to get Barkley going against Chicago, but to no avail.
The loss of Barkley put added pressure on quarterback Daniel Jones who was erratic all afternoon, even though the Giants somehow managed to remain in the contest until the final seconds.
The first half against Chicago was one to forget. The Giants found themselves down 17-0, and of their first six possessions, two of them ended into a Jones turnover; another ended in a missed field goal.
It was a nightmare to say the least.
Yet, somehow the Giants found their way back into the game thanks in part to guile, and also thanks to the fact the other quarterback in this game was Mitchell Trubisky. An 11-play 95-yard drive lead by Jones picking apart the Bears secondary with short, precise throws moved the ball all the way down to the Bears' one-yard line before Dion Lewis plunged into the end zone on fourth and goal to cut the Chicago lead to 17-10 with 14:18 to play.
As quickly as the Giants got back into the game, they almost as quickly found themselves out of it when Eddie Jackson picked off a tipped ball thrown by Jones and brought it back 54-yards for a Bears touchdown that would have make it 24-10. However, Jackson was flagged for pass interference - a truly awful call that benefited the Giants greatly.
Instead of being down by 14, the Giants kept the football and turned it into three points by Graham Gano to make it 17-13.
After the Bears methodically drove down field, chewing up nearly six minutes, only to miss a field goal of their own that would have iced it, the Giants got one last show. And believe it or not, working underneath proved to be exactly what the Giants needed from Daniel Jones.
Of the six passes he completed, five of them were less than six yards. Two of the most critical plays came on a fourth and four conversion to Lewis for six yards to move the ball to the Bears' 26 with 0:45 seconds remaining. Later Jones converted a fourth and one on a short pass to Darius Slayton at the Bears' 14 with :09 seconds to go.
Needing to throw it into the endzone, Jones decided to go short again, this time back to Lewis for four yards to the Bears' 10. With only four seconds remaining, Jones tired to zip the ball into Godlen Tate in tight coverage only to have the ball knocked away. Tate was also called for offensive pass interference ending the game.
Jones finished 25-of-40 for 241 yards and two turnovers (a pick and fumble). He was also under tremendous duress all day, having been sacked four times.
At 0-2, and without their inspirational leader in Barkley, the Giants are starring into an uncertain future. The only good news for Big Blue is they will face an very beat up San Francisco 49ers team on Sunday at the Meadowlands, but with the way the Giants are playing -- there is no telling when their first 'W' will come.
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