The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Barkley injured as Giants fall to Bears
CHICAGO — The Chicago Bears were happy with another close win, while the New York Giants have greater concerns than their O-2 record: a potentially serious injury to star running back Saquon Barkley.
Mitchell Trubisky threw two touchdown passes and the Bears hung on to beat the Giants 17-13 on Sunday.
The Bears (2-0) chewed up New York early on, grabbing a 17-0 halftime lead, and withstood a big push a week after rallying from 17 down at Detroit for their first season-opening win in seven years.
“Like, 2-0 is not a bad situation,” defensive tackle Akiem Hicks said. “I don’t care how you get it. Twoand-oh is delicious. I’ll eat that every day of the week.”
The Giants (0-2) refused to go quietly even though
they lost Barkley to a right knee injury on the opening play of the second quarter.
New York’s Dion Lewis made it a seven-point game when he plowed in from the 1 in the opening minute of the fourth.
James Bradberry then intercepted Trubisky when he ripped the ball out of Allen Robinson’s hands, leading to a 37-yard field goal by Graham Gano that cut it to 17-13 with 7:43 remaining.
The Bears caught a break on fourth down at the New York 36 with just under four minutes left. New York’s Blake Martinez deflected a pass intended for Jimmy Graham, and the ball ricocheted to tackle Bobby Massie for a first down. Cairo Santos missed wide left on a 50-yard fieldgoal attempt, giving New York the ball on the 40 with 2:02 remaining.
The Giants drove to the 10 before Golden Tate got called for pushing off against Eddie Jackson near the goal line on an incomplete pass as time expired.
“We did a good job overall as far as moving the ball systematically down the field,” Giants coach Joe Judge said. “Look, we’re standing at the 10-yard line with one play to go. That’s really what you’re working for in the 2-minute drill. Just give yourself an opportunity.”
BARKLEY’S INJURY
Limited to 6 yards on 15 attempts against Pittsburgh on Monday night, Barkley came up clutching his right knee when he was dragged down by Jackson at the end of a run. The 2018 offensive rookie of the year was taken for X-rays after being helped to the sideline and will be examined further on Monday.
HONORING CAUSI
The New York Jets and Giants renamed the photo work room at MetLife Stadium in honor of Anthony Causi, the New York Post photographer who died at 48 in April from the new coronavirus.
The exceedingly popular sports photographer covered the city’s teams for 25 years. Many of New York’s professional sports teams and players paid tribute to Causi, who was married with two young children, in the months since his death.
The Jets and Giants announced the dedication of the Anthony J. Causi Photo Work Room on Sunday, a few hours before the Jets’ home opener against the San Francisco 49ers at MetLife Stadium.
Causi grew up in Brooklyn and was hired by the New York Post in 1994 as a photo messenger, according to the newspaper. He became a full-time photographer and covered every major sports team and sporting event in the New York area during his career.