CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago Bears were happy with another close win, while the Giants have greater concerns than their 0-2 record: a potentially serious injury to star running back Saquon Barkley.
Mitchell Trubisky threw two touchdown passes and the Bears hung on to beat the Giants, 17-13, on Sunday.
The Bears (2-0) chewed up the Giants early on, grabbing a 17-0 halftime lead, and withstood a big push a week after rallying from 17-down at Detroit for their first season-opening win in seven years. It is Chicago’s best start since the 2013 team won their first three games.
“Like, 2-0 is not a bad situation,” Bears defensive tackle Akiem Hicks said. “I don’t care how you get it. Two-and-0 is delicious. I’ll eat that every day of the week.”
The Giants (0-2) refused to go quietly even though they lost Barkley to a right knee injury on the opening play of the second quarter.
Barkley had been limited to 6 yards on 15 attempts against Pittsburgh on Monday night, after which he was criticized by former Giants running back Tiki Barber for his pass-blocking skills. Barkley, 23, came up clutching his right knee when he was dragged down by Bears safety Eddie Jackson at the end of a run. The 2018 offensive rookie of the year was taken for X-rays after being helped to the sideline and will be examined further on Monday.
Giants running back Dion Lewis made it a 7-point game when he plowed in from the 1-yard line in the opening minute of the fourth quarter.
James Bradberry then intercepted Trubisky when he ripped the ball out of Bears receiver Allen Robinson’s hands, leading to a 37-yard field goal by Graham Gano that cut the score to 17-13 with 7:43 remaining.
The Bears caught a break on fourth down at the New York 36 with just under four minutes left. New York’s Blake Martinez deflected a pass intended for Jimmy Graham, and the ball ricocheted to tackle Bobby Massie for a first down. Cairo Santos missed wide left on a 50-yard field goal attempt, giving New York the ball on the 40 with 2:02 remaining.
The Giants drove to the 10-yard line before Golden Tate got called for pushing off against Jackson near the goal line on an incomplete pass from Daniel Jones as time expired.
“We did a good job overall as far as moving the ball systematically down the field,” Giants Coach Joe Judge said. “Look, we’re standing at the 10-yard line with one play to go. That’s really what you’re working for in the two-minute drill. Just give yourself an opportunity.”
“We came out in the second half and we responded as a team,” said Jones, who threw for 241 yards and an interception. “I thought we were able to play some complementary football with the defense coming up for us, making big plays and the offense, you know, able to move the ball and score some points. So, you know, ultimately, we ran out of time there at the end, but we responded and we certainly got to start better.”
Trubisky completed 18 of 28 passes for 190 yards, with two interceptions, and was sacked four times. He hit David Montgomery for a 28-yard touchdown on the game’s opening possession and added a 15-yarder to Darnell Mooney in the closing seconds of the first half to give the Bears a 17-0 lead.
“The way it went with scoring no points in the second half, it certainly doesn’t feel as exciting as it was last week when we won with a comeback and scoring all our points in the fourth quarter,” coach Matt Nagy said. “But I also told our guys, now listen, it is not easy to win in this league. I don’t care who you’re playing and we’re 2-0.”
Source: Football - nytimes.com
