A detailed breakdown of the New York Giants 30-27 overtime win against the Chicago Bears.
New York Giants wide receiver Russell Shepard, left, celebrates with teammates wide receiver Bennie Fowler (18) and running back Wayne Gallman (22) after catching a touchdown pass from wide receiver Odell Beckham, not pictured, during the second half of an NFL football game against the Chicago Bears, Sunday, Dec. 2,2018, in East Rutherford, N. J. (AP Photo/Bill Kostroun) ASSOCIATED PRESS
The beauty of football is that sometimes the most significant plays in a game end up going down not quite according to plan.
Such was the case with the New York Giants in their 30-27 win over the Chicago Bears on a misty, grayish afternoon at MetLife Stadium.
The play in question was an end-around run by receiver Odell Beckham Jr., who then stopped and cocked his arm back before finding fellow receiver Russell Shepard in the end zone for a 49-yard touchdown reception that gave the Giants a 17-14 lead.
As it played out, the play was a masterpiece given its outcome, but in reality, Shepard admitted after the game that he wasn’t supposed to be in the end zone—he was instead supposed to be helping to block Beards outside linebacker Khalil Mack.
But something convinced Shepard to freelance and head for the end zone.
DID. YOU. SEE. THAT!?! @OBJ launches one 49-yards to Russell Shepard and the #NYGiants take the lead! #ProBowlVote pic.twitter.com/W1a22KYuFV
— New York Giants (@Giants) December 2,2018
“It wasn’t something we repped,” Sheppard said after the game. “It wasn’t something we did throughout the week. Once I saw all the safeties suck in, I was like, ‘The field is wide open.’ For him to see me and not know I was supposed to be there is crazy.”
The play, according to Beckham, was supposed to go to receiver Bennie Fowler—except the Bears decided to double Fowler.
Shepard, seeing this, decided to make a break for the end zone and the rest, as they say, was history.
“I saw (Shepard) down the middle of the field and I was like, ‘This can’t be real,’” Beckham said. “I just launched it to him. It’s all good–he wasn’t supposed to do that, but he’s just playing football and he came up with a huge play for us—a very, very big play.”
Shepard said that because everyone started to converge toward Beckham, that left him all by his lonesome I the end zone.
“He’s a talented guy with the ball in his hands. He demands attention. I just kind of snuck through the cracks. So, it was good for me, great for us.”
Shepard, who like Beckham played his college ball at LSU, praised his teammate for making it happen.
“He’s the best person I’ve seen with a ball in his hands. He can hit a homerun in an MLB stadium. He can kick a soccer ball. Since I’ve been knowing him since he was 17,16, he’s probably one of the best people I’ve seen with a ball, period, in his hands. He kicked a 50-yard feel goal a couple weeks ago in practice.
Q: Why did the Giants thrown the ball on 3rd-and-8 with the ball on the Bears 30-yard line late in the fourth quarter instead of running it and forcing the Bears to take a timeout? (The Giants ended up taking a sack on that play instead and ended up punting rather than trying a long field goal.
A: Shurmur explained after the game that quarterback Eli Manning was trying to give kicker Aldrick Rosas a little more breathing room on the field goal. The Giants pass protection, which was otherwise more than adequate, ended up breaking down and the 8-yard sack knocked them out of field goal range. Shurmur also said he felt that, despite the fact Aldrick Rosas had hit a 57-yard field goal earlier in the game, he would be pushing his luck to ask Rosas to try another long attempt at that juncture in the game and didn’t want to give the Bears the ball back in good field position.
Q: What happened on that fourth quarter onside kick that Odell Beckham didn’t come up with? Did he quit on the play?
A: Beckham firmly denied not giving a full effort on that play, insisting that credit should be given to the Bears for executing the onside kick to perfection.
“Sometimes somebody makes a better play than you do. I could dive in there and still not get the ball. So it was a very tough call. Nobody should ever question my effort or my heart.
