The Chicago Bears (2-2) suffered a brutal 20-12 defeat by the New York Giants (3-1), which was another reminder about realistic expectations for this team in 2022.
The Bears had a chance to win this game against a bad Giants team that was down both quarterbacks at one point. But Chicago’s offense stalled in the red zone, couldn’t stop Saquon Barkley and ultimately fell short.
Looking at the snap counts from the game, there were some interesting observations, including how Cody Whitehair’s injury shook things up along the offensive line, Trevis Gipson’s second-team reps and Velus Jones Jr.’s lack on involvement on offense.
Here’s a look at the Bears’ snap counts and our observations from Week 4 against the Giants.
*Snap counts via NFL Game Statistics and Information System
Offense
Observations:
- Braxton Jones, Larry Borom and Sam Mustipher were the only offensive linemen that played every snap. Cody Whitehair exited the game with a knee injury while Teven Jenkins and Lucas Patrick rotated at right guard.
- With David Montgomery sidelined, Khalil Herbert saw 77% of offensive reps. He finished the game with 19 carries for 77 yards.
- Meanwhile, rookie Trestan Ebner saw 14 reps as Herbert’s backup. Ebner had six carries for 20 yards.
- Surprisingly, Darnell Mooney didn’t see the most reps at receiver. That honor went to Equanimeous St. Brown, who had 59 reps compared to Mooney’s 53. But it was Mooney who had four receptions for 94 yards as St. Brown had zero catches on two targets.
- Rookie Velus Jones Jr. made his NFL debut, where he saw action as a returner on special teams (including a muffed punt at the end of the game). But, surprisingly, he didn’t see any snaps on offense. Could it be Chicago playing it safe as he returns from a hamstring injury? Hopefully he’ll be more involved moving forward.
- Cole Kmet played all but one of Chicago’s 62 offensive snaps. He had three catches for 16 yards, including a tight end screen. Hopefully we’ll see more of that.
- With Ryan Griffin sidelined, Trevon Wesco was the No. 2 tight end behind Kmet, playing 14 snaps. He had one reception for 23 yards on two targets.
Defense
Observations:
- Roquan Smith, Eddie Jackson, Jaquan Brisker, Kindle Vildor, Nicholas Morrow and Kyler Gordon played every snap in Sunday’s loss. Jackson was the best player on defense with nine tackles and an interception. Smith had 10 tackles, but none for a loss, while Brisker got his first NFL sack.
- With Jaylon Johnson sidelined, Jaylon Jones saw reps when the Bears were in nickel, which wasn’t often. Jones saw 25 defensive snaps, where he had three tackles.
- Robert Quinn played 66% of the defensive snaps, where he managed just one tackle and one QB hit. He was the Bears’ lowest-graded defender by PFF.
- Trevis Gipson remains with the second-team defensive line, so he only saw 43% of the defensive snaps, tied with rookie Dominique Robinson. Gipson has had the most success getting after the quarterback, so you have to wonder if he’ll be promoted to the first team.
- With Matt Adams sidelined with a hamstring injury, newly-promoted Joe Thomas saw 40 snaps on defense. He had five tackles.
- Justin Jones played 40 snaps against the Giants, where he totaled six tackles, including two tackles for a loss.
