Inauspicious debut: Making his NFL debut after missing the first three games with a hamstring injury, rookie Velus Jones Jr. made a costly mistake.
With the Bears trailing 20-12, the Giants punted from their own 7 with 2:13 remaining in the game. Jones muffed the punt and New York recovered.
“He’s going to be hurt about it,” Mooney said. “No one wants to drop the ball. But he’ll be fine. He’ll be good. We’ll have our arms around him. He’ll be fine. He’s going to take one to the crib next week, so everybody will forget about this one.”
Jones, a third-round pick from Tennessee, had three other touches in the game—a pair of 22-yard kickoff returns and a 19-yard punt return.
New life: After Jones’ miscue, the Giants had an opportunity to ice the win. But Gano missed a 37-yard field goal attempt that would have made it a two-score game, hitting the left upright with just :17 remaining.
On the Bears’ final play, which came from their own 33 with :02 left, Fields threw a 2-yard pass to Trestan Ebner. A series of desperation laterals and fumbles followed, with the ball being touched by receiver Equanimeous St. Brown, Fields again, St. Brown again, Ebner again, left guard Lucas Patrick, Fields for a third time, right guard Teven Jenkins, tight end Cole Kmet and Ebner for a third time before the ball was recovered by the Giants at the Bears’ 28.
Early exit: Bears left guard Cody Whitehair exited with a knee injury in the first half and did not return. Patrick, who had started at right guard, moved to left guard with Jenkins playing the rest of the way at right guard.
Special play: Undrafted rookie Josh Blackwell generated a momentum-swinging takeaway late in the first half. After the Giants extended their lead to 14-6, the Bears went three-and-out on their subsequent possession and were forced to punt.
Blackwell tackled punt returner Richie James, forcing a fumble that Blackwell recovered among a pile of bodies at the Giants’ 35 with 3:48 left in the half. The turnover set up Badgley’s 40-yard field goal that drew the Bears to within 14-9.
“I hit him and the ball popped out,” Blackwell said. “I thought [teammate] Jaylon Jones had it. I was pointing, and then the ball squirted out right to me.”
Blackwell was eager to celebrate but had to remain patient.
“I was just waiting for everybody to get up off me so I could show I had it,” said the Duke product. “It was a cool feeling though.”
It was unquestionably the biggest play of Blackwell’s brief NFL career.
“[It was] huge,…
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