Giants grades for Week 10 loss to the Bears: C's and D's all around
Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart, center, looks to throw during the first half of an NFL game against the Chicago Bears on Sunday in Chicago. Credit: AP/Nam Y. Huh
OFFENSE: C
For the three quarters he played, Jaxson Dart was excellent, finishing 19-for-29 for 242 yards plus six rushes for 66 yards and two touchdowns. At one point he was 11-for-12 passing for 146 yards. But he fumbled late in the third quarter, leading to an eventual field goal for the Bears and apparently suffering a concussion on the play. With Dart sidelined for the fourth quarter, Russell Wilson led an impressive first drive for a field goal to make it 20-10, but after that, nothing. The Giants were 1-for-4 on fourth downs.
DEFENSE: D
They were solid for much of the game, but then, as often happens, the unit dissolved in the fourth quarter. Caleb Williams was under severe pass rush pressure for much of the day, but the Giants never managed to catch him. The fact Williams was not sacked once was a minor miracle. He had two long rushes in the fourth quarter, a 29-yarder that set up a touchdown and a 17-yarder that scored the winning TD. Deonte Banks was called for two pass interference penalties on a drive that resulted in a Bears field goal.
SPECIAL TEAMS: C
Younghoe Koo made both of his field goal attempts and both of his extra points filling in for Graham Gano. Banks had a 39-yard kickoff return. But Jamie Gillan shanked a disastrous 26-yard punt that gave the Bears the ball at their 47-yard line to set up the drive for the winning touchdown.
COACHING: D
The Giants have lost four games in a row. The Giants are 2-8 for the third season in a row. The Giants have lost four road games this season that they led by 10 or more points. None of this speaks well to the coaching, especially on defense. Brian Daboll made a debatable decision not to try to go up two touchdowns when the Giants had a fourth down inside the Chicago 1-yard line in the fourth quarter. You could make a case for his strategy being sound. But regardless, it blew up in his face.
Neil Best first worked at Newsday in 1982, returned in 1985 after a detour to Alaska and has been here since, specializing in high schools, college basketball, the NFL and most recently sports media and business.
