The Bears second half debacle against the Giants in MetLife Stadium generated the most noise about the 2-8 team. Outside linebacker Pernell McPhee also made some noise of his own, but most came from his mouth during a press conference.
This is what McPhee had to say about the Giants offense’s low sack total earlier in the week.
We’re going to tear their ass up. I don’t care what everybody else did,” McPhee said. “We’re going to sack him. He can throw the ball however many times he wants. I’m going to make sure of that.”
Well, Eli Manning wasn’t sacked one time and McPhee only had one tackle. Also, McPhee wasn’t on the field for a majority of the defensive snaps. The talkative linebacker’s words spoke louder than his play in Sunday’s loss to the Giants.
But, it takes an entire defense to help out with causing pressure on the quarterback and the defense failed miserably to cause any. To cut the defense a little slack, the Giants did come into this game ranked third in the league with the least sacks allowed (13).
One player doesn’t represent the entire team, but it has been a lack of team execution in the second half of ball games that has spoken louder than any words.
The Bears went into halftime with a 16-9 lead, but that didn’t last for long. With their first two possessions, the Giants scored two touchdowns, giving them a 22-16 lead. Those were the last two scores from either team for the rest of the game.
Offensively in the second half, the Bears failed to sustain drives, and at times, had more negative plays than they did positive. This could be due to both Josh Sitton and Zach Miller leaving the game with injuries. In total, the Bears played the second half without six starters on offense – Kyle Long, Sitton, Bobbie Massie, Alshon Jeffery, Kevin White and Miller.
Again, this shouldn’t be an excuse because defensively Bears’ starters have been in and out of the lineup all season. At one point the Bears had Demontre Hurst and Sherrick McManis starting in the secondary.
That is just asking for opposing offenses to score, which the Giants did after Hurst bit on wide receiver Sterling Shepard’s route, leaving him wide open for an easy touchdown catch.
The Bears have been outscored 140-61 in the second half this season and have been outscored 86-30 in the fourth quarter.
That alarming and embarrassing statistic is what the Bears should be focusing on … not talking smack.
McPhee has said in the past he wants “dogs” on this team, but in this instance, he bit off more than he could chew.
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