Keys To Victory: Chicago Bears Face Odd Test

1. Shutdown Saquon Barkley

There’s no denying the fact that Saquon Barkley has been the Giants best offensive player so far in 2018. In fact, one could further argue that he’s singlehandedly carried the Giants offense this season.

Barkley has rushed for eight touchdowns in 2018 while catching 81.6 percent of passes thrown his way so far. It’s clear that he’s lived up to the expectations that were set for him coming out of Penn State during the 2018 NFL Draft. This means to win, the Bears defense will need to shutdown Barkley in any way they can.

Barkley is a very patient running back with excellent vision. He waits for plays to develop while looking at the various gaps that are available to him before finally making a decision as to where he wants to go with the football. Once Barkley finds an opening, he immediately accelerates and turns what looks like a short run into a long gain.

One thing the Bears have struggled with throughout this season is sometimes tackling the ball carrier. The biggest example of such as issue was against the Miami Dolphins in week six. On Sunday, the Bears will need to do everything they can to close up the A, B, and C Gaps.

Often times, the Barkley will even look like he is blocking for the quarterback picking up a blitz before Giants quarterback Eli Manning quickly tosses the ball to him. It’s clear that Barkley is a gamechanger for the Giants. If the Bears run defense can shut him down, then it’ll set the offense up with some early scoring opportunities.