Sunday’s matchup between the Chicago Bears and New York Giants features two teams that couldn’t be traveling faster in opposite directions. New York is riding a four-game winning streak after escaping at home against the Cincinnati Bengals last week, while the Bears are dealing with a performance-enhancing drugs suspension, an ever-growing list of players on injured reserve, and the likely last stand of quarterback Jay Cutler — to say nothing of their on-field performance.
Bears vs. Giants live stream: How to watch the Week 11 matchup online
The Giants are emerging as contenders, while the Bears continue to collapse.
With the Giants (6-3) in a prime position to solidify themselves as a contender, Chicago (2-7) presents an opportunity for them to stay ahead of Washington and the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC East. And things continue to look up in New York.
Odell Beckham Jr. is returning to his superstar form with 143 yards and three touchdowns on 14 receptions in the last two weeks. Sterling Shepard has also caught touchdowns in back-to-back games, and Victor Cruz could return this week after an ankle injury. That gives quarterback Eli Manning a bevy of offensive weapons to throw at a defense giving up an average of 260 yards per game through the air.
There’s no reason to expect the Giants will play conservative on offense. With the Bears on Sunday afternoon and the Cleveland Browns (0-10) on deck, coach Ben McAdoo’s team can separate itself from a bunched-up NFC playoff picture, if not gain some ground on the Dallas Cowboys (8-1).
The only thing the Bears can do now is play spoiler or move up on the draft board. Following Chicago’s last week’s humiliating 36-10 loss to Tampa Bay, players were reportedly embarrassed at Cutler’s lack of preparation heading into the game. Cutler barely completed half of his passes (16 of 30) for 182 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions by former Bear Chris Conte — who ran back one for a score.
That could’ve dominated the headlines in Chicago all week. Because of the misfortune of his teammates, that narrative barely lasted a day. On Tuesday, offensive lineman Kyle Long and nose tackle Will Sutton were placed on injured reserve with ankle injures, leaving the Bears without two key players for the foreseeable future. Chicago now has 13 players on IR, including five starters. And before that storyline could get dissected, Cutler’s most important target, wideout Alshon Jeffery, was suspended four games for using a performance-enhancing substance.
The best hope for a Bears offense ranked second-to-last in points per game (15.7) now comes down to tight end Zach Miller and running back Jordan Howard. Miller hasn’t scored a touchdown since Week 4, and while Howard rushed for 100 yards against the Bucs, he will face a much tougher challenge against a stingy Giants defense giving up an average of 92.1 yards per game on the ground.
This is also a sneaky revenge game for New York kicker Robbie Gould. The Bears’ all-time leading scorer was dumped by Chicago rather unceremoniously less than a week before the season opener and picked up by the Giants in late October.
While it’s hard to see the Bears pulling out a victory in New York, they aren’t a team the Giants should take lightly — after all, the Bears paraded around their locker room after knocking off the Minnesota Vikings, and then, well, they went to Tampa.
For a team that doesn’t have much else to lose, and a coaching staff fighting for their jobs, Chicago should be looking to play risky and catch New York off guard. A setback for the Giants here would be disastrous, even with the a trip to Cleveland looming next week.
How to watch
Time: 1 p.m. ET
Location: MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, N.J.
TV: Fox
Announcers: Kevin Burkhardt, John Lynch, Pam Oliver
Online Streaming: Sunday Ticket, Fox Sports Go
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