PLAYER NOTES
–TE Evan Engram (hamstring) did not practice Wednesday. His availability for Sunday is uncertain.
–ILB B.J. Goodson (neck) was limited Wednesday.
–WR/PR Quadree Henderson was placed on season-ending injured reserve with a fractured shoulder.
–LB Lorenzo Carter (hip) was limited Wednesday but should be good to go for Sunday.
–LB Tae Davis (ankle) was limited Wednesday. Davis has been used as a coverage linebacker, so it will be interesting to see if his practice reps increase as the week goes on.
–CB Grant Haley (hamstring) was limited in Wednesday’s practice. Haley’s status for Sunday is unclear.
–S Curtis Riley (shoulder) was limited in Wednesday’s practice. He should be OK to go for Sunday’s game against the Bears.
–WR Cody Latimer has been designated to return from injured reserve. Latimer will now have a 21-day window to practice without counting against the 53-man roster.
–DE Kerry Wynn (concussion) remains in the protocol. Wynn has not yet been cleared for contact. Wynn was limited in Wednesday’s practice.
–RB Jonathan Stewart, who has been designated to return from IR, is “ready to go,” per head coach Pat Shurmur. The Giants have until next Thursday to activate Stewart or leave him on injured reserve for the remainder of the season.
PLAYER SPOTLIGHT: QB Eli Manning. Head coach Pat Shurmur wasted no time in naming the beleaguered Manning as the team’s starter this weekend, insisting that Manning still gives the Giants, whose playoff hopes are tethering off the ledge, the best chance to win. “This isn’t player tryouts, this is do everything in your power to win the next game,” Shurmur said.
The problem with that thinking is that this year, Manning’s performance has been all over the map, with most of his showings just not as effective as he used to be. Further complicating matters is that Manning, who turns 38 in January, has one year remaining on his contract and the Giants still don’t appear to have a definitive succession plan in place for the team’s most important position.
GAME PLAN: Last week, the Giants started off with a familiar winning formula that had been working for them in their first two games out of the bye: run the ball.
Then in the second half of the game, they went away from the run and the rest was unfortunate history.
This week against a ferocious, attacking Bears defense that has 34 sacks, sixth best in the NFL, the best way to attack them is to try their hand with the run game and Saquon Barkley.
Although the Bears defense has been stingy against the run this year — they’ve only allowed two opponents to rush for more than 190 yards against them this season — Barkley is in a whole other class by himself and has made believers this year out of the stingiest of run defenses.
MATCHUPS TO WATCH
–Giants LT Nate Solder vs. Bears OLB Khalil Mack. Mack might not necessarily be tearing it up in the sack department this year — he has 8.0 so far in nine games — but he’s another one of those speed rushers that Solder had had trouble with earlier in the year. And speaking of Solder, he’s been quietly solid since coming out of the bye week. In three games, he’s allowed just two pressures according to Pro Football Focus, one of which was a sack given up to Bucs DE Jason Pierre-Paul on a miscommunication.
–Giants WR Odell Beckham Jr. vs. Bears CB Kyle Fuller. Although the Giants likely plan to move Beckham around as usual, he figures to line up mostly against Fuller, the Bears’ top cornerback. Fuller, who among cornerbacks who have been involved with at least 50 percent of their team’s coverage snaps, has allowed opposing receivers 45 receptions (out of 75 pass targets) for 554 yards and four touchdowns with five interceptions, team bests among the Bears’ corners. Fuller has been especially tough against deep passes, an area in which Beckham has done well in this year, catching nine out of 10 catachable deep balls for 303 yards and two touchdowns.
