Players capable of heroics to topple the Bears
CHICAGO — The Giants are sick of losing, so Pat Shurmur challenged his players this week to do something about their sixgame skid with a simple question.
“What can you do as an individual to help your team win?”
This was Shurmur’s charge for everyone, himself included, in preparation for Sunday’s Irrelevance Bowl between the Giants (2-8) and Chicago Bears (4-6) at Soldier Field.
“It’s easy to say you love to win and hate to lose, but the reality is, what are you doing to help us win?” Shurmur said after a bye week of reflection. “That’s the soul-searching that we as coaches go through. Are there things tactically that we can do differently and better? I think the players go through the same process.”
So who are the position players with the talent to make explosive plays that could elevate Shurmur and the Giants to a desperately-needed victory over the Bears? Here are some of our top candidates:
Jabrill Peppers, SS:
GM Dave Gettleman hailed Peppers as an extra firstround draft choice when he acquired him from Cleveland in the Odell Beckham trade. Peppers was supposed to replace what Landon Collins did for the Giants’ defense. He has not made the impact Gettleman predicted. Not even close.
Peppers, however, is highly motivated, tired of losing and good with the ball in hands. He reminded us all of that in Week 4 with his interception return for a TD against Washington’s Dwayne Haskins.
Leonard Williams, DE:
Gettleman acquired Williams a few weeks ago from the Jets in exchange for a 2020 third-round pick and a 2021 fifth-rounder that becomes a fourth if
Williams re-signs this spring.
Williams immediately became one of the Giants’ better players on defense and has generated more consistent interior pressure on the quarterback through two games than they’d seen all season. But his pressure hasn’t resulted gamechanging sacks and turnovers.
Sterling Shepard, WR:
Shepard was cleared from the concussion protocol on Friday and is slated to play for the first time since Week 5 against Minnesota. He sustained two concussions in one month: one in Week 1 at Dallas and a second in Week 5 against the Vikings. He was cleared initially for that Monday night Cowboys game but experienced a setback and sat out the Jets game and through the bye.
Saquon Barkley, RB:
It does without saying that Barkley needs to be a better runner and a better pass blocker. His deficiencies in pass protection are forcing Shurmur to take him off the field on some pass plays, and it’s putting Jones in bad positions on others.