The Chicago Bears’ kicking competition takes to the road for preseason Week 2, with the New York Giants playing host in an exhibition matchup between two of the NFL’s most storied franchises.
Soldier Field has long been a nuisance for kickers, but it has never been easy to kick out east, either. And while I can imagine it’s easier to kick in MetLife Stadium in the summer months, no one really knows what the winds could do at a given moment. With that said, this arena should provide a unique opportunity for either Eddy Piñeiro or Elliott Fry to do something to stand out from what has been a neck-and-neck race to this point.
Maybe both will kick well. That would be a welcome surprise. But if neither does well, then, yikes … I’m not looking forward to dealing with that possibility quite yet.
Game Info
Chicago Bears (2018: 12-4, 1st NFC North) at New York Giants (2018: 5-11, 4th NFC East) – FOX-TV (Adam Amin, Jim Miller), NFL Network; WBBM-AM 780, FM 105.9 (Jeff Joniak, Tom Thayer, Mark Grote)
Site: MetLife Stadium; East Rutherford, New Jersey
Referee: Shawn Smith
Odds: Giants -3 (via Bovada.lv)
Game Thread
Your game thread is down in the comments, so let’s have some good, clean (safe-for-work) fun. And hopefully, we can get some good times rolling in the preseason and keep them going into the regular season.
Coaches
Bears Matt Nagy (12-4) vs. Giants Pat Shurmur (15-34 overall, 5-11 with Giants)
Projected Week 1 Starting Quarterbacks
Bears: Mitch Trubisky: 3,223 passing yards, 24 touchdowns, 12 interceptions, 66.6 completion percentage, 95.4 quarterback rating (14 games in 2018)
versus
Giants: Eli Manning: 4,299 yards, 21 touchdowns, 11 interceptions, 66.0 completion percentage, 92.4 passer rating (16 games in 2018)
Bears First-String Offense
RB Tarik Cohen
WR Allen Robinson II, Taylor Gabriel, Anthony Miller
TE Trey Burton
LT Charles Leno Jr
LG Cody Whitehair
C James Daniels
RG Kyle Long
RT Bobby Massie
Bears First-String Defense
DT Akiem Hicks
NT Eddie Goldman
DE Bilal Nichols
OLB Khalil Mack, Leonard Floyd
ILB Danny Trevathan, Roquan Smith
CB Kyle Fuller, Prince Amukamara
S Eddie Jackson, Ha Ha Clinton-Dix
Bears Second-String Offense
QB Chase Daniel
RB Mike Davis
WR Cordarrelle Patterson, Javon Wims, Jordan Williams-Lambert
TE Adam Shaheen
LT Cornelius Lucas
LG Alex Bars
C Ted Larsen
RG Jordan McCray
RT Rashaad Coward
Bears Second-String Defense
DT Roy Robertson-Harris
NT Nick Williams
DE Jonathan Bullard
OLB Aaron Lynch, Isaiah Irving
ILB Nick Kwiatkoski, Joel Iyiegbuniwe
CB Buster Skrine, Kevin Toliver II
S Deon Bush, DeAndre Houston Carson
Bears Third-String Offense
QB Tyler Bray
RB David Montgomery
WR Riley Ridley, Marvin Hall
TE Ben Braunecker
LT T.J. Clemmings
LG Joe Lowery
C Sam Mustipher
RG Jordan McCray
RT Marquez Tucker
Bears Third-String Defense
DT Jonathan Harris
NT Daryle Banfield
DE Abdullah Anderson
OLB Kylie Fitts, James Vaughters
ILB Josh Woods, Kevin Pierre-Louis
CB Duke Shelley, John Franklin III
S Jonathon Mincy, Sherrick McManis
Bears Special Teams
Place kicker: Eddy Piñeiro, Elliott Fry
Punter: Pat O’Donnell
Long snapper: Patrick Scales, John Wirtel
Return specialists: Cordarrelle Patterson, Anthony Miller, Marvin Hall, Tarik Cohen, Eddie Jackson
Other Bears Players of Note
Running backs: Ryan Nall, Kerrith Whyte Jr.
Wide receivers: Tanner Gentry, Taquan Mizzell Sr., Thomas Ives, Joe Walker
Tight ends: Bradley Sowell, Ian Bunting, Dax Raymond, Ellis Richardson, Jesper Horsted
Offensive line: Blake Blackmar
Defensive end: Jalen Dalton
Outside linebackers: Chuck Harris, Matt Betts
Inside linebacker: Jameer Thurman
Cornerbacks: Michael Joseph, Stephen Denmark, Clifton Duck
Safety: Doyin Jibowu
NEWSLETTER
