Giants vs. Bears: Three predictions for Week 11

Week 10 was saw something important happen.

Yeah, the New York Giants won their fourth straight game, keeping pace with the rest of the NFC East, have one of the best records in the conference, and continue to prove to themselves that they CAN win close games.

But that’s not what I’m talking about.

I hit on all three of my predictions last week!

Now, like the Giants want to keep their momentum rolling today, I’d like to keep mine going as well and hit on today’s predictions, too.

Rookies Will Be Key Players

This isn’t just for the Giants, I believe that rookies will play key roles for both teams, on offense and defense. And, in all honesty, I’m kinda trying to pad my stats here.

The Giants are the only team in the league to have three rookies catch touchdown passes (Sterling Shepard, Roger Lewis Jr., and Jerell Adams). Not to mention, Paul Perkins’ role in the offense has been increasing, creating the possibility for a FOURTH rookie to have a receiving touchdown this year — and no, I have no clue if that’s a good thing or a bad thing.

On the other side, UDFA rookie Andrew Adams has taken over the free safety position and run with it, giving Steve Spagnuolo the confidence to dial up the pressure. Eli Apple has played well most of the season, and rebounded spectacularly from a dismal performance against the Philadelphia Eagles to allow just one catch (9 yards) on three targets while playing every defensive snap against the Cincinnati Bengals.

For the Bears, running back Jordan Howard has been the Chicago Bears best offensive player, with six consecutive 100+ yard performances since becoming their starter. Likewise, 9th overall pick Leonard Floyd has become a key member of the Bears defense.

Roger Lewis Jr. Will Have A Big Day

The Bears’ front seven is formidable with a trio of dangerous pass rushers and an incredibly active linebacker in Danny Trevathan. Their secondary, however, is porous.

That means that they will devote their resources to stopping, or at least slowing down Odell Beckham Jr., and he can expect a corner and safety double team all game long. The flip side is that, the Giants’ other receivers will face more favorable match-ups. While Eli Manning will likely love to have Victor Cruz back from an ankle injury, his reps were declining as the coaches wanted to lessen his work load for the second half of the season. So there will be WR snaps to be had for the Giants other receivers in Cruz’s place.

And despite Lewis’ very “Rookie” day getting his first NFL start against the Bengals, he will get his share of those snaps — As with Eli Apple after the Eagles game, I think McAdoo will give Lewis the chance to rebound from a bad game. So with the Bears defense concentrating on not letting Beckham gash them, the opportunity arises for another receiver to benefit.

I’m predicting that will be Lewis.

Owamagbe Odighizuwa Will Finally Get A Sack

Revisiting a previous prediction here. I believed that Owa was ready to break out after an exciting preseason that showed off his explosive power. It didn’t happen and he saw his snap share decline while the starter’s snap counts have raised eyebrows.

But, I saw something at the end of the Bengals game that gave me some hope. Lined up against Andrew Whitworth, Owa beat Whitworth, pushing him back into the pocket then helped Olivier Vernon secure the sack.

With the Bears potentially having (as of this writing) an entirely new right side to their offensive line and a rookie center, the opportunity could well be there for Owa to make a much-needed impact.