The Chicago Bears used a late interception by Roquan Smith and a 30-yard Cairo Santos field goal as time expired to beat the Houston Texans 23-20 last Sunday. Now they’re moving on to a Week 4 road clash with the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium.
Both teams underwent full reboots in January, hiring new general managers and head coaches. Both teams will also be fighting to improve to 3-1, with the winner likely to receive widespread praise as one of the surprise success stories of the season’s first month.
In the lead up to Sunday’s game, here are a handful of eye-catching facts and figures.
The Bears record so far this season. After three weeks, they are one of 13 NFL teams with a 2-1 mark. The Giants are also in that club. Amazingly, only two undefeated teams remain: the Miami Dolphins and Philadelphia Eagles. The Bears, for what it’s worth, have started 2-1 seven times over the past 25 years. Their most common record after three games over that span is 1-2 (eight times).
The Bears’ average record at the end of a season when they’ve started 2-1 in seven campaigns since 1997. In three of those seasons, they have later advanced to the postseason. They did so with a 13-3 mark in 2001, 12-4 in 2018, and at 8-8 in 2019.
Rushing yards by Giants running back Saquon Barkley through three games, tops in the NFC and second only to Nick Chubb of the Cleveland Browns (351). Barkley is averaging 6.0 yards per carry and is the NFL leader in yards from scrimmage, turning 66 touches into 408 yards.
Rushing yards by the Bears through three games, the best in the NFC and second only to the Browns (572). The Bears have been dominant in the running game with a 5.4 yards per rush average (fourth in the league). Khalil Herbert leads the Bears in rushing with 240 yards through three games. Herbert’s 7.3 yards per carry average is second in the NFL among qualifying leaders, behind only D’Andre Swift of the Detroit Lions (8.6 ypc).
Passing yards by Bears quarterback Justin Fields through three games, 717 yards behind the league leader, Josh Allen of the Buffalo Bills. Among qualifying leaders, Fields ranks 32nd in the NFL in passing yards after Week 3. Perhaps even more notably, he is 68 yards behind the 31st-ranked passer (Jimmy Garoppolo of the San Francisco 49ers) and 217 yards behind the 30th-ranked passer (Cooper Rush of the Dallas Cowboys). Garoppolo has made one start this season; Rush has made two.
Quarterbacks who have thrown for at least 297 yards in multiple games this season, including Allen who has done it in all three starts. Also on the list: Jalen Hurts, Justin Herbert, Carson Wentz and Joe Flacco. Fields has only 23 completions over his first three outings. Twenty-four quarterbacks have had at least 23 completions in a game this year and eight have done it in all three of their games.
Completions per possession for the Bears through three games. They had only one drive out of 12 in last Sunday’s win over the Texans in which Fields completed multiple passes. For the season, the Bears have completed at least two passes on only four of 32 possessions. For comparison, the Bills — the league’s passing leaders — average 3.1 completions per possession.
Consecutive seasons, including this year, in which the Bears and Giants have played each other. The Bears have won the last three meetings, including last season’s 29-3 blowout at Soldier Field in Week 17. The Bears got a turnover on the game’s opening play — a fumble forced by Trevis Gipson and recovered by Bilal Nichols — and scored on the next snap with David Montgomery contributing a 2-yard TD run. The Bears defense contributed four takeaways and a safety in the win.
Touchdowns allowed after halftime by the Bears this season. The defense has shown impressive stinginess late thus far. On 14 opponent possessions in the second half, the Bears have allowed only four field goals, while forcing four punts, creating three takeaways and getting two turnovers on downs. (The Packers also killed the clock on the final series of the Week 2 game.)
Touchdowns scored before halftime by the Giants in their first three games. Their offense has had 15 total possessions in the first halves of games this month and wound up with only three field goals while punting seven times, turning the ball over once, turning it over on downs another time, missing a field goal and having the half expire twice.
Seasons spent coaching together by new Bears coach Matt Eberflus and new Giants coach Brian Daboll. Eberflus was the linebackers coach under Eric Mangini with the Browns in 2009 and 2010 while Daboll was the team’s offensive coordinator. Notably, Daboll was one of 11 coaching candidates to interview for the Bears job in January. Giants GM Joe Schoen was one of 14 candidates the Bears spoke to for their front office opening. Bears GM Ryan Poles, meanwhile, was also a candidate for the Giants GM job.
Road games for the Bears in October, starting with Sunday’s game in New Jersey. The Bears will go to Minneapolis to face the Vikings in Week 5, then travel to Foxboro, Mass., to face the Patriots in Week 7 and will close the month in Dallas against the Cowboys. The team’s only game at Soldier Field in October is a Thursday night contest against the Washington Commanders on Oct. 13. This will be only the second time in the Super Bowl era the Bears have played four road games in a calendar month. The last time it happened was in 1981 when they faced road trips to Tampa, Kansas City, Green Bay and Dallas in November. The 1994 Bears, meanwhile, played four road games in a 26-day stretch from Nov. 6 through Dec. 1.
()
