The Sports Xchange
Nov 20, 2016
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- The New York Giants overcame a 10-point deficit on Sunday to top the Chicago Bears 22-16 at MetLife Stadium.
Giants quarterback Eli Manning threw two touchdown passes in the third quarter to rally New York (7-3) to the victory.
New York took the lead and never looked back on Manning's 15-yard touchdown pass to receiver Sterling Shepard with 6:49 left in the third quarter.
Early on, Chicago (2-8) was playing well and the Giants spotted the Bears three scores on their first three possessions.
New York struggled to stop Bears running back Jordan Howard, who rushed for 72 yards on 12 carries in the first half while quarterback Jay Cutler completed 11 of 14 passes in the half for 126 yards and one touchdown.
The Bears caught the early game momentum on their opening drive as Giants defensive end Olivier Vernon was flagged for roughing the passer on a second-down play. That penalty gave the Bears an energy boost as they marched down the field, the drive ending with Cutler connecting with a wide-open tight end Zach Miller in the seam for the 19-yard score.
After Connor Barth missed the point after, the Giants tied the score 6-6 when Rashad Jennings, who finished with 85 yards on 21 carries, checked into the end zone won a 2-yard touchdown run to cap an 11-play, 78-yard drive that saw Giants head coach Ben McAdoo go for it on a fourth-and-2 from the Bears' 17-yard line.
On that successful conversion, Manning's pass was caught by Shepard for a 15-yard gain to give the Giants first-and-goal from the 2 to set up Jennings' score. Kicker Robbie Gould, however, missed the PAT, the first of two misses for him in the game.
The Bears grew their lead to 16-6 at the half on back-to-back scoring drives. The first score, a 40-yard field goal by Connor Barth, was set up by a big third-down conversion to Miller that went for 34 yards to give the Bears a first down on the Giants' 26-yard line.
The other score came on a 1-yard touchdown run by running back Jeremy Langford on a drive that saw the Bears rush for 53 yards against a Giants run defense that, entering this weekend's game, was ranked seventh in the league against the run.
The Giants got a 46-yard field goal by Gould to make it 16-9 at the half. The field goal was Gould's second in four games since being signed four weeks ago to replace Josh Brown.
The Giants finally started to show some life on their opening in the second half on their opening drive. Return specialist Dwayne Harris returned the opening kickoff 46 yards, and New York converted two key third-down plays, the first a 4-yard run by Jennings and the second a 12-yard catch by Shepard to set up Manning's 9-yard touchdown pass to tight end Will Tye to tie the score at 16-16, the PAT by Gould hitting the right upright.
The Giants took the lead and never looked back on Manning's 15-yard touchdown pass to receiver Shepard, a score made possible thanks to Manning using his legs to avoid the rush to find receiver Victor Cruz for a 48-yard reception down the far sideline.
The Bears did try one last attempt to take the lead, but on second-and-29 inside of the two-minute warning, Cutler's pass intended for receiver Marquess Wilson was picked off by Giants safety Landon Collins, who now has five interceptions in his last four games.
Defensively, the Giants also clamped down against the run, holding Howard to just five yards on five carries in the game's final 30 minutes.
Barth and the Bears had a chance to narrow the Giants lead in the fourth quarter, but Barth missed a 51-yard field goal attempt when it bounced off the right upright.
The Bears, who came into the game banged up on both sides of the ball, will be holding their breath regarding three key starters who were injured this week.
Miller suffered a sprained foot at the end of the first half, and did not return. Starting right guard Josh Sitton, who sprained his ankle covering a punt in the third quarter, also didn't return.
The most concerning of the injuries though was suffered by rookie outside linebacker Leonard Floyd, who had two tackles and one tackle for a loss. Floyd looked to have had his neck snapped back on a fourth-quarter tackle. The injury left him on a crumpled heap on the field until trainers stabilized his neck and then helped him onto a backboard so he could be carted off the field.
The Giants will hit the road for the next two weeks, starting with a game against the Cleveland Browns. New York will then head to Pittsburgh the following week to face the Steelers.
The Bears return home for a two-game stretch starting next week against Tennessee. They host the 49ers the following week.
NOTES: With the win, their fifth in a row on the season, the Giants have joined an elite group of clubs who have won three consecutive home games. Of the 126 teams that have had three straight home games, only 29, including this year's Giants team, have swept opponents over that stretch. ... Bears S Cre'Von LeBlanc was being evaluated for a concussion and LB Christian Jones suffered an ankle injury. Neither returned. ... Giants WR Sterling Shepard, who had two touchdowns in his first three games before being held scoreless over the next four, now has a touchdown reception in his last three games.
