Giants rally to knock off Bears

[November 21, 2016]  EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- The New York Giants overcame a 10-point deficit Sunday to top the Chicago Bears, 22-16 at MetLife Stadium.

Giants quarterback Eli Manning threw two touchdown passes in the third quarter to rally New York (7-3) to the victory.

New York took the lead on Manning's 15-yard touchdown pass to receiver Sterling Shepard with 6:49 left in the third quarter.

Chicago (2-8) scored three times on its first three possessions, as New York struggled to stop Bears running back Jordan Howard. He rushed for 72 yards on 12 carries in the first half while quarterback Jay Cutler completed 11 of 14 passes in the half for 126 yards and one touchdown.

The Bears caught the early game momentum on their opening drive as Giants defensive end Olivier Vernon was flagged for roughing the passer on a second-down play. That penalty gave the Bears an energy boost as they marched down the field, the drive ending with Cutler connecting with a wide-open tight end Zach Miller in the seam for the 19-yard score.

After Connor Barth missed the point after, the Giants tied the score 6-6 when Rashad Jennings, who finished with 85 yards on 21 carries, checked into the end zone won a 2-yard touchdown run to cap an 11-play, 78-yard drive that saw Giants head coach Ben McAdoo go for it on a fourth-and-2 from the Bears' 17-yard line.

On that successful conversion, Manning's pass was caught by Shepard for a 15-yard gain to give the Giants first-and-goal from the 2 to set up Jennings' score. Kicker Robbie Gould, missed the PAT, the first of two misses for him in the game against his former teammates.

"That was probably the toughest conditions I've ever kicked in just because (the wind) started, it stopped, it started, it stopped," Gould said of his two misses. "I just missed two today and go back and evaluate it and see how to get better. At the end of the day I have to do my job."

The Bears grew their lead to 16-6 at the half on back-to-back scoring drives. The first score, a 40-yard field goal by Connor Barth, was set up by a big third-down conversion to Miller that went for 34 yards to give the Bears a first down on the Giants' 26-yard line.

The other score came on a 1-yard touchdown run by running back Jeremy Langford on a drive that saw the Bears rush for 53 yards against a Giants run defense that, entering this weekend's game, was ranked seventh in the league against the run.

The Giants got a 46-yard field goal by Gould to make it 16-9 at the half. The field goal was Gould's second in four games since being signed four weeks ago to replace Josh Brown.

The Giants finally started to show some life on their opening in the second half on their opening drive. Return specialist Dwayne Harris returned the opening kickoff 46 yards, and New York converted two key third-down plays, the first a 4-yard run by Jennings and the second a 12-yard catch by Shepard to set up Manning's 9-yard touchdown pass to tight end Will Tye to tie the score at 16-16, the PAT by Gould hitting the right upright.

Bears wide receiver Eddie Royal (19) can't hold on to a pass as New York Giants strong safety Landon Collins (21) defends in the third quarter at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports

The Giants defense also started to show some life after a slow start to the game. After allowing the Bears 214 yards on offense in the game's first 30 minutes, the Giants clamped down and limited the Bears to just 101 total yards of offense in the second half.

"Nobody wants to start slow," said Vernon. "Our coaches made some good halftime adjustments and that was it. All we had to do is stick to our game plan, really. (The Bears) weren't doing anything that we hadn't seen on film. That slow start was on us and we just have to start faster."

On second-and-29 inside of the two-minute warning, Cutler's pass intended for receiver Marquess Wilson was picked off by Giants safety Landon Collins, who now has five interceptions in his last four games, to effectively end the game.

"I don't know," Cutler said when asked what happened on his interception. "I went to step and my foot bounced a little bit. I gotta look at it and see what happened."

"It's a loss and it's very disappointing," said Bears head coach John Fox. "We did have some injuries, we had some guys step in and did okay but not quite well enough. It was a loss."

NOTES: With the win, their fifth in a row on the season, the Giants joined an elite group of clubs who have won three consecutive home games. Of the 126 teams that have had three straight home games, only 29, including this year's Giants team, have swept opponents over that stretch. ... Bears S Cre'Von LeBlanc was being evaluated for a concussion and LB Christian Jones suffered an ankle injury. Neither returned. ... Giants WR Sterling Shepard, who had two touchdowns in his first three games before being held scoreless over the next four, now has a touchdown reception in his last three games.

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