The Chicago Bears (2-1) will battle the New York Giants (2-1) on Sunday, where Chicago will be looking to build on their Week 3 victory.
Chicago is coming off a 23-20 victory over the Houston Texans (0-2-1), where there were some questions in the passing game. While the Bears defense bent but didn’t break, they once again haven’t allowed a touchdown in the second half. Chicago will look to get back on track against a Giants offense that’s pretty similar to their own.
As the Bears prepare to face the Giants, here’s what Chicago’s defense needs to do to slow down the New York offense in Week 4.
1
Contain Saquon Barkley
Not unlike the Bears, the Giants don’t have much of a passing game. But, like the Bears, the Giants can run the football well. New York has the fourth-ranked rushing attack in the NFL, averaging 169.3 yards on the ground per game. The resurgence of Saquon Barkley has been a big reason why. The Giants are going to attack a Bears run defense that’s been one of the worst in the league, allowing 157 rushing yards per game. They’re going to need to do their best to contain Barkley if they want to stop this New York offense.
2
Pressure Daniel Jones
The Bears don’t blitz the quarterback much (they rank 31st with a blitz rate of 7.3%). But they rank fourth in pressure rate (33%), and they’ve done a good job getting home with just four rushers. But Chicago’s pass rush was virtually nonexistent last week against the Texans — notching just one sack — which allowed Davis Mills plenty of time in the pocket. That needs to change against Daniel Jones, who struggled behind a struggling offensive line last week against the Cowboys.
3
Continue taking the ball away
Chicago’s defense has established itself as a unit capable of taking the football away. Through three games, they have five takeaways, and they’ve managed at least one takeaway in each game. But the Giants have only turned the ball over three times this season, which means the Bears are going to have to do their best to force turnovers rather than wait for the takeaways to come to them. But if they can bring the pressure on Jones, they can certainly force him into mistakes. He’s been one of the most turnover-prone quarterbacks in the league.
