It’s the battle to see who can become the most unlikely 3-1 team in the NFL this year as the Chicago Bears travel east to face the New York Giants.
The Bears are coming off a narrow 23-20 victory against the Houston Texans while the Giants dropped their first game of the year, losing 23-16 against the Dallas Cowboys.
This matchup should seem familiar for both teams. For one, they have faced each other in every season since 2018. But they’re also extremely similar to one another. Their young quarterbacks are playing better with their legs than their arms, the running attacks are exceptional, the receiving group has underwhelmed, and the defense has played solid so far.
It’s the famous Spiderman meme come to life between these two teams, and here are the players from the Giants we’ll be pointing at to keep an eye on this Sunday.
1
QB Daniel Jones
It’s been more of the same for Daniel Jones entering his fourth season in the NFL. He isn’t having a ton of success throwing the ball, but he’s finding ways to get through defenses with the help of his legs. Jones has just 560 yards passing and his quarterback rating has dropped by about 30 points in each game he’s played since Week 1. He does have 125 rushing yards, though, and his legs could be the key to the Giants moving the ball. The Bears can stop Jones by making him uncomfortable in the pocket, while also ensuring he doesn’t have room to run.
2
RB Saquon Barkley
Like the Bears, the rushing attack has been stellar for the Giants through three games. Unlike the Bears, however, it’s all been thanks to one running back. Saquon Barkley is having a remarkable bounce back season, ranking second in the league in rushing yards. He has 317 yards on 53 rushing attempts with two touchdowns. He’s the key to the Giants offensive success and now he faces the Bears, who allowed his only 100-yard rushing game of the year when he faced them in 2021.
3
WR Richie James
With receivers Sterling Shepard, Wandale Robinson, and Kadarius Toney injured, as well as Kenny Golladay and Darius Slayton staying in the Brian Daboll doghouse, the Giants top pass catching target appears to be veteran Richie James. Through three games, James has 14 catches for 146 yards. He’s the only healthy wide receiver for the Giants to have double-digit targets and will likely be Jones’ favorite target on Sunday. James is on his way towards having a career year, already approaching his yearly average output when he was with the San Francisco 49ers the last few seasons. He’s the player to keep an eye on when the Giants look to pass.
4
OLB Kayvon Thibodeaux
The wait for Kayvon Thibodeaux finally ended last week when the rookie defensive end made his NFL debut. Thibodeaux was injured during the preseason and missed the Giants first couple of weeks. But he took the field for the first time this season on Monday night against the Dallas Cowboys. Thibodeaux didn’t pop off on the stat sheet, totaling just one tackle and batting down a pass, but he was getting work in against the Cowboys tackles trying to get to Cooper Rush. The former Oregon star is still working his way back from injury but he should be more impactful this week and shouldn’t be taken lightly.
5
CB Adoree' Jackson
Perhaps it is a biproduct of facing lesser quarterbacks, but the Giants secondary is quietly having a decent start to the year. The Giants are just behind the Bears, allowing 203 yards per game through the air. A big reason for that has been because of Adoree’ Jackson. The veteran cornerback has allowed one touchdown, courtesy of a one-handed grab by CeeDee Lamb in the Giants last game, but is only allowing a completion percentage of 55 on 20 targets. The Giants secondary still doesn’t have an interception on the year, but Jackson could be that guy to break the drought if Justin Fields has another rough outing.
