EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – The New York Giants had a good week of practice, and seemed liked they were starting to show some progress in the right direction. Friday night, the Giants got to test themselves against the Chicago Bears in their second preseason contest.
Even though the Bears didn’t play any of their starters, this didn’t prevent the Giants from getting their starters some valuable reps. Eli Manning translated his successful week of practice into a scoring drive to start the game. Manning completed all four of his passes for 42 yards, and capped it off with a TD pass to Bennie Fowler.
Manning would only play one drive, and Daniel Jones took over for the rest of the first half. Jones had a rough week of practice, and it showed in his second preseason game. The Giants’ rookie botched a hand-off for a fumble lost, and then was stripped for a fumble lost on the following drive.
Jones would rebound back, and led the Giants second touchdown drive of the night. The TD pass was thrown nicely to T.J. Jones, who had his second straight game with a TD. This isn’t surprising, considering how well Jones has performed throughout training camp. Especially with Golden Tate due to serve a four game suspension, look for Jones to step up and continue to make plays downfield.
Even though the Bears weren’t playing any offensive starters, it was expected for the Giants’ defense impose its will early. New York was able to hold off two turnovers and force a safety in the first half. This brought them to a 19-6 lead going into halftime.
Chicago made it interesting in the second half, intercepting a pass in the red zone from Alex Tanney. The Bears would take advantage of the good field position on the INT return, and punched in a touchdown of their own. This score brought the score to 13-19, and got Chicago back into the game.
New York would come back and respond with a touchdown drive of their own, to extend the lead to 25-13. The Giants tried to make it a 14 point game, but failed on the two point conversion. The Giants would tack on seven more points, and the defense stood its ground to secure a 32-13 win in MetLife Stadium.
The Giants showed more fluidity in their offensive attack, but still had some instances of sloppy play. To become a playoff contender, you have to eliminate the mental lapses on both sides of the ball.
New York will be on the road in their next preseason game against the Cincinnati Bengals. The Giants will face the Bengals next Thursday night at 7 PM.
Barry Holmes is a Senior Writer for PureSportsNY.com. Follow him on Twitter @BHO732
(Featured Photo Credit: Barry Holmes/PureSportsNY)