Keidel: Giants, Bears Have Flaws In Opposite Places

After four games, the Giants were 2-2, fresh off two straight wins, and found instant mojo and magic from their rookie quarterback. At 2-0, Daniel Jones was the toast of the town, and proud owner of a new handle, Danny Dimes. 

Since then, the Giants have lost six straight, are just one game ahead of the wretched Redskins in the NFC East, and have long lost their sheen as a team on the come. The Giants have imploded despite spending the overwhelming bulk of their schedule on the East Coast, with their opening game in Dallas the only time in ten games in which they fled our time zone. They've lost games to the Cardinals, Lions, and Jets, who have a combined record of 9-20-2. 

Now they travel to Chicago, the farthest west they will find themselves the rest of the way, to play the Bears, one of the few teams as troubled as the G-Men. The Bears came into this season with stratospheric dreams after reaching the playoffs last year. Instead, they are 4-6 and in shambles as Mitch Trubisky seemingly plunged from a playoff passer into a cauldron of QB controversy. And with every poor performance, Trubisky inches his way toward the bench for a team that seems to have had a turnstile under center for decades. 

Consider that the Giants have scored a paltry 203 points in ten contests, while the Bears have posted just 169 points, second worst in the NFC behind the 1-9 Redskins. Unlike the Bears, who are about to abandon Trubisky, the Giants have full faith in Jones, who has played quite well despite Big Blue's record. The main reason the Bears aren't 2-8 like the Giants is their granite defense, which has allowed just 174 points, by far the fewest in the NFC, and trail only the Bills and Patriots overall. 

While these two teams are troubled, they have cracks in opposite places. The Giants are set at quarterback with Jones, who tossed four touchdowns and zero interceptions against the Jets. Since Week 8, Jones has completed 65.6 percent of his passes, with nine TDs, one INT, and a 106.6 passer rating. They are set at halfback, with Saquon Barkley, who, despite his lingering ankle injury, is the best young RB in the league. With Golden Tate playing well, a gifted TE in Evan Engram on the mend, and the emergence of Darius Slayton, the Giants have flashed some speed and skill at their skill sets.

But the Giants' defense is one big variable, especially compared to the bedrock talents in Chicago, where Kahlil Mack and Roquan Smith lead NFC's stingiest defense. That disparity is also reflected in their ability to snatch the ball from the enemy. Chicago has a plus-4 turnover margin, No. 10 in the NFL. The Giants have a dreadful minus-12 turnover margin, second-worst in the league. 

If every game doubles as a building block for Jones, then Trubisky is battling for his job. His 1,580 passing yards are 28th in the NFL, as is his 82.2 passer rating, while 25 NFL QBs have thrown more TDs than Trubisky's nine. To give you an HD view of how bad the Bears quarterback has been, he's completed just 17 passes of at least 20 yards, Kirk Cousins has 42 such completions. Matt Stafford has 41, and he's played two fewer games. Trubisky has completed one pass for over 40 yards, which leaves him tied with Eli Manning, Ben Roethlisberger, and Josh Rosen, among others who have barely played this season. 

The Bears and Giants are football bluebloods, the NFL iteration of Original Six teams. Both are run by monolithic football families in big cities that don't suffer losers lightly. As unbending as the Bears' defense has been, you'd likely take the team with a better quarterback. 

But the Giants need to escape this six-game mudslide, slap a win on the board, or find themselves firmly behind the Jets as the worst team in their own building, and closer to being the worst team in the sport. 

Follow Jason on Twitter: @JasonKeidel