Daniel Jones overcoming adversity early is just one of the many takeaways in the New York Giants 32-13 victory over the Chicago Bears on Friday night at MetLife Stadium.
- New York Giants 32 (2-0)
- Chicago Bears 13 (0-2)
- NFL, Preseason Week 2, Final, Box Score
- MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, NJ
EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ—Despite the Chicago Bears sitting all of their offensive and defensive starters, head coach Pat Shurmur had to be pleased with his team’s effort in their 32-13 victory on Friday night at MetLife Stadium.
To start the game, he saw his offense march down the field 79 yards in 10 plays that culminated in an Eli Manning eight-yard touchdown pass to Bennie Fowler. In what would be his only series of the game, completed all four of his passes for 42 yards.
Aside from his starting quarterback looking impressive, there were other positive takeaways from the New York Giants victory.
Daniel Jones proved he can handle adversity
Daniel Jones had a rollercoaster night on Friday. It started off poorly as Jones fumbled a sack and was then strip-sacked by James Vaughters, and also lost a fumble. But Jones was not rattled by his poor start. He would go on to complete 11-of-14 passes for 161 yards and a touchdown.
https://twitter.com/Giants/status/1162528379075084288?s=20
His 15-yard touchdown to TJ Jones in the second quarter was a perfectly placed pass that erased any doubts that he’s not an accurate passer.
The pass rush came to life
Although they didn’t go against the Bears starting offensive line, the Giants were able to generate a pass rush as they sacked Bears quarterbacks three times. Two newcomers to Big Blue, who will be heavily relied upon to resurrect the pass rush, Markus Golden and rookie Oshane Ximines, each tallied a sack. Shurmur and fans are hoping this is just the beginning of things to come.
Ground game ran wild
The Bears first-team defense sat out Friday night, but so did the Giants top two running backs in Saquon Barkley and Wayne Gallman. This made what the Giants accomplished on the ground on Friday that more impressive. As a team, the Giants gained 161 yards on 35 carries. All of the Giants running backs had at least one rush for at least 11 yards or more.
https://twitter.com/Giants/status/1162545171055050753?s=20
Paul Perkins, Rod Smith and Jonathan Hilliman all made plays and helped their case for making the roster.
Cody Latimer continues to make plays
Once again, Cody Latimer showed his ability for making plays downfield. In the second quarter, he made a leaping catch over a defender down the left sideline that was good for 40 yards. This was the second game in a row that Latimer had a reception of over 30 yards and is showing that he’s poised to have a breakout season.
https://twitter.com/Giants/status/1162516389053075457?s=20
Corey Ballentine seems to have the inside track to be the kick returner
While rookie cornerback Corey Ballentine has received high praise for his coverage and ball-hawking skills, the Giants also like the traits he possesses as a kick returner. Ballentine returned the first two kickoffs for a total of 49 yards. As of right now, it seems he’s poised to be the team’s kickoff returner.
Injury concern
With DeAndre Baker sitting out due to a knee injury, Antonio Hamilton started with the first-team defense at right corner, and then later in the game played left corner with the second-team. But his night was cut short due to a groin injury. As of Friday night, the extent of his injury is unknown.
