Bears vs. Giants wasn’t supposed to be one of the most exciting games of the weekend, but a series of decisions down the stretch made it one of the most bizarre games of Week 13 before New York eventually won in overtime, 30-27.
Inject the ending of Bears vs. Giants into our veins
Weird, wacky, bizarre and everything in between.
Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images
James Dator has been covering a wide range of sports for SB Nation for over a decade, with a special focus on the NFL.
The Giants were in a commanding position entering the fourth quarter, up 24-14. All they needed to do was grind out the final quarter, which seemed utterly possible considering the defense was handling Chase Daniel and Saquon Barkley was having success on the ground.
So let’s dive into what went wrong ...
The onside kick.
Up 27-20 following a field goal, the Giants elected to go for an onside kick in the fourth quarter with 1:13 left, rather than trust their defense to hold.
What happened here is a matter of perspective, but a lot of fans seem to believe Odell Beckham Jr. was in position to recover the ball, and chose not to.
It looks borderline. There’s some definite alligator arms, but he’s been catching passes over the middle all year. Not like the guy is afraid of contact. Either way, not recovering the onside was the beginning of the end.
The questionable call.
With time expiring the Bears took a shot to the end zone, which was overthrown by Chase Daniel. However, referees ruled that the pass was catchable — setting up one last play by Chicago at the Giants’ 1 yard line with 3 seconds left.
Once again, fans were livid with the decision.
The trick play.
On the ensuing play the Bears ran a reverse pass from Tarik Cohen to Anthony Miller.
Keep in mind what had happened in the span of 75 seconds. The Giants went from almost winning the game to facing a loss because of these three moments. There was almost a sense of finality to it — as if the Bears were destined to steal this one.
But that didn’t happen.
Luckily for New York the Bears couldn’t get it done. Despite fumbling three times on their overtime drive (and recovering all of them) the Daniel couldn’t lead Chicago to the win.
The worst part of all this: Winning is potentially the worst outcome for the Giants right now. They’ve won three of their last four games, are quickly playing their way out of a draft spot to find the team’s quarterback of the future.
The best part of all this: If you love Eli Manning then you’ll probably see a lot more of him in the future.
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