THESE 5 PLAYERS GOTTA BEAR DOWN!
GIANTS AT BEARS WEEK 12 Giants can beat Chicago today behind this group
Cowboys game but experienced a setback and sat out the Jets game and through the bye.
Shepard’s return gives Jones both Shepard and Tate on the field for just the second time all season. So Jones has a more encouraging group of receiving weapons, along with Darius Slayton and Bennie Fowler, even with tight ends Evan Engram (left foot sprain) and Rhett Ellison (concussion) both out.
Tate and Slayton both have shown game-breaking qualities, but adding Shepard’s catch-and-run dimension could lift the Giants’ passing game to another level. He’ll be eager to be the guy who wins Sunday’s game for the team, too. That’s just how Shepard thinks.
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. His 13 carries for one yard against the Jets was a low point in his young NFL career, and he’s motivated to bust out in a big way against the Bears. The only problem is that the Bears defense knows the Giants need and want to establish Barkley, too. So it will just come down to who executes best. But remember, Gettleman drafted Barkley No. 2 overall. The way this team is constructed, he has to dominate and cannot afford to be marginalized for this offense to thrive.
JANORIS JENKINS, CB
You never know which Jackrabbit you’re going to get each Sunday. He was roasted for three TDs by Mike Evans in Week 3 and avoided a collision entirely with Cowboys tight end Blake Jarwin two games ago. But he also has a team-high four interceptions and at other points has stuck his nose in on outside running plays and made strong tackles. You just never know.
One certainty about Jenkins, however, is he is arguably the most capable Giants defensive player of picking off Trubisky on Sunday and taking it to the house. He has seven pick-sixes in his eight-year career, including two for the Giants in 2017.
Jenkins is returning from a concussion he suffered during the Jets loss. His favorite response to critics this season after a bad performance has been that there “ain’t no pressure.” But there is all the pressure in the world on his head coach and the Giants on Sunday, and therefore on Jenkins.
Maybe the Rabbit can pull a rabbit out of a hat and show them the way to a win.