Pat Shurmur, Giants thinking just one thing when it comes to Bears
It looks as if every Giants game the rest of the way will include some sort of playoff ramification — for the opponent.
The first-place Bears arrive Sunday at MetLife Stadium at 8-3 own a two-game lead in the NFC North. Up next for the Giants, the Redskins (6-5) might be sinking fast but they are not yet out of contention in the NFC East. The Titans (5-6) could have a shot at an AFC wild-card berth. Same for the Colts (6-5). The suddenly first-place Cowboys (7-5) will have something to play for in the regular-season finale.
The Giants? They will be there, too, and are not especially juiced up about inflicting pain on anyone else.
“Again, we’re just trying to beat the Bears,’’ coach Pat Shurmur said. “I don’t know what the spoiler thing means. I’m looking at the positive approach of us winning. I’m not really worried about the team we’re playing, whether we hurt their chances to do something else. What I want to do is to be better than the team we’re playing this Sunday.’’
CB Prince Amukamara has found a football home in Chicago. After five years with the Giants as their 2011 first-round pick, Amukamara had to settle for one-year contracts with the Jaguars in 2016 then the Bears in 2017, before proving himself and signing a three-year, $27 million deal. He has started 10 games for a formidable defense and against the Seahawks earlier this season turned an interception of Russell Wilson into his first NFL touchdown return.
“First of all, he’s a student of the game’’ Bears coach Matt Nagy said. “He has experience, which is good, I like that. He’s done a great job all year long being a leader and playing his solid game, and we like where he’s at.’’
The Bears lead the league with 29 takeaways and 104 points scored off turnovers. They have allowed just 211 points this season, with more than half of them (109) given up in the fourth quarter. Winners of five straight games, the Bears are sixth in the league in scoring, helped along by six defensive touchdowns.
Nagy, in his first year as the Bears head coach, was a coaching intern with the Eagles in 2008 when Shurmur was the quarterbacks coach in Philadelphia. Nagy recalled when he was trying to break in as a coach, Shurmur was especially helpful to him.
“A lot of coaches, you get so busy, whether it’s during the season or in the offseason, and when you get so many different phone calls from people, and he was the one coach that would always return my phone call or return a text message and ask how I was doing,’’ Nagy said. “That went a long way with me.’’
