Chicago Bears vs. New York Giants preview: Bears want to stay NFC's last perfect team
The Chicago Bears, surprisingly, are the only team remaining in the NFC with a perfect record, and will look to improve their record to four wins out of four when they travel to the New Meadowlands Stadium
to take on the struggling New York Giants in the week four Sunday nighter.
How they match up
Except for their week one game against the Detroit Lions the Bears have appeared to have been outmatched across the board. If you think about the matchups at quarterback, when Cutler faced off against
Tony Romo in week two most would have picked Romo.
Last week when the Bears met the Packers on Monday night the Patriots were favourites. Once again with Super Bowl champion Eli Manning taking the snaps for the Giants, conventional wisdom would give the
edge to Manning. But Cutler, who has struggled since breaking into the NFL with the Denver Broncos five seasons ago, and posted arguably his worst season last year after coming over to Chicago including throwing 26 interceptions, has been solid in his three
starts this season and is third in the NFL behind only Peyton Manning and Michael Vick in passing with a rating of 109.7, and leads the league in average yards per completion.
Manning, on the other hand, has struggled so far this season and is tied for the league lead in interceptions with six. His Giants are also off to a slow 1-2 start and play in arguably the NFL's toughest
division - the NFC East.
Chicago running back Matt Forte has only run for 108 yards in three games this season, but he has been a major threat coming out of the backfield with 14 catches and three touchdown receptions.
The Bears linebacking tandem of Brian Urlacher and Lance Briggs, along with Julius Peppers on the defensive line, give Chicago the edge on defence. The Giants, in fact, have given up more points than 29
of the league's 32 teams. Only the Buffalo Bills and the San Francisco 49ers have given up more points after three weeks.
Devon Hester has also reemerged as a dominant force on special teams as he ran back a punt for a touchdown last week against the Packers, so he could also exploit a Giants special teams unit which has
struggled so far this season.
What to expect
Despite Chicago's excellent all-around play early in the season it's too early to tell whether or not Cutler is the real deal, or whether he will slip into the pattern of inconsistency that he did last
year. If the Giants defence can get pressure on him consistently they could force him to throw low percentage passes that may lead to turnovers.
The Giants will rely on Ahmad Bradshaw to run the football and if the Giants can control the clock they will have a definite shot at winning the game. The Giants will also have to control time of possession
and prevent big plays. Keeping a linebacker in the flat to keep Forte from exploiting the Bears screen pass option will also be key for the Giants. Giants will win a tough one 20-17.
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