Fans rip Bears over late-game decision vs. Vikings
Every year presents each NFL team a blank slate and a fresh start, which is exactly what the Chicago Bears need after they went 5-12 last year. It even looked as though the Bears were going to start the season off with a huge win, especially as they held Minnesota Vikings quarterback JJ McCarthy in check for the first three quarters, including scoring a pick-six against him to push the lead to 17-6 in the third quarter.
Alas, the Bears could not finish the job. They allowed the Vikings to come back into the game, with McCarthy finding his groove — allowing Minnesota to turn the tables and take a 27-17 lead over Chicago with 2:53 remaining in regulation. Caleb Williams and company still had a chance to win, however, especially after they scored to pull to within three with 2:02 left in the fourth.
However, that's when the Bears' decision-making went off the rails. They decided to gun for a touchback from place kicker Cairo Santos instead of telling him to kick the ball out of bounds. What this meant was that the Bears needed to burn their final timeout to stop the clock on the Vikings' ensuing drive; if they kicked the ball out of bounds instead, that would have kept the clock at 2:02 with the ball being on the 40-yard line — allowing the two-minute warning to stop the clock for them.
This then prevented the Bears from mounting much of a challenge from thereon out as they suffered a 27-24 defeat — much to the dismay of many fans on social media.
Fans clown the Bears for their poor decision-making late in the game
The Bears are already projected to be one of the bottom-feeders in the NFL this season, and this late-game mismanagement won't help matters for them whatsoever. They certainly became the butt of jokes on X.
“The #Bears should’ve just kicked it out of bounds and let them get the ball at the 40. Big mistake,” @MySportsUpdate wrote.
“Bears should have kicked the ball out of bounds there and took the penalty,” @JoeyKnish22 added.
“I dont understand that decision to kick off there with just 1 timeout left. If you're going to kickoff, kick it out of bounds. OR try the onside. Makes ZERO sense,” @Zack_Pearson furthered.
In particular, Santos became a laughingstock for his purported inability to kick the ball out of the endzone.
“Cairo Santos really has a noodle leg,” @Illinois2Natty wrote.
Giants Predicted to Make Change at QB Early in the Season
The New York Giants QB room is one of the more fascinating groups in the NFL. Russell Wilson is a Super Bowl champion and Jameis Winston never fails to entertain the masses with his play on the field or with his commentary when standing in front of a microphone.
Yet, Giants rookie QB Jaxson Dart has made such a positive impression throughout the preseason that one NFL writer believes his future under center in the organization could come much sooner than people think.
Giants QB Jaxson Dart Predicted to be Named the Starter by Week 5 from The Athletic
Dan Duggan of The Athletic sees some similarities in the dynamic between Russell Wilson and Jaxson Dart to that of the situation back in 2019 with Eli Manning and Daniel Jones, which has boldly predicting Dart will be the starting quarterback by Week 5 of the 2025 NFL season.
Duggan wrote, “Giants brass has told everyone who will listen since the draft that Russell Wilson is the unquestioned starting quarterback and the plan is for first-round pick Jaxson Dart to develop behind the scenes. It sounds awfully familiar to 2019 when the plan was for Eli Manning to start with Daniel Jones on the bench … and then Jones took over after an 0-2 start. Manning was a franchise icon with far more equity than Wilson, who is on his fourth team in five years. If the Giants stumble against a killer early schedule, they won’t wait long to replace Wilson with Dart, who looked ready in the preseason.”
In three games of preseason action, Dart went 32-of-47 for 372 yards to go with three touchdown passes and no interceptions. His efficiency and protection of the football through the air helped generate a passer rating of 113.1, which is certainly an encouraging sign for your rookie signal caller.
Dart appeared comfortable and in command of the Giants’ offense, which stands to do nothing but add fuel to the fire for those who believe the Ole Miss product should be starting under center as soon as possible.
The Pros and Cons of Starting Jaxson Dart Early in His Career
The arguments both for and against starting a rookie quarterback feel pretty cut and dry.
If you force a rookie quarterback into the starting lineup before he is ready on a bad football team, then it could do permanent damage to his development.
Yet, the best way for a rookie signal caller to get experience to learn from is for him to see live game reps to adjust to the speed of the NFL.
The real question is whether or not Dart is ready to take over under center. He looked great in the preseason, but playing against backups and vanilla defensive schemes aren’t going to be the norm once he takes over under center on a full-time basis in the regular season.
Dart flashed enough upside that Michael Fabiano of Sports Illustrated actually named him a fantasy football sleeper entering the season.
Fabiano wrote, “Dart should get starts during his rookie season on a Giants team that’s not expected to compete for a playoff berth. The problem is we don’t know when that will happen, as Russell Wilson is currently entrenched as the starter. Still, Dart is a player to watch in the coming weeks.”
Dart has the physical tools to be a starting quarterback in the NFL and the Giants have a tough schedule to start the season. It is not that farfetched that Dart could be named the starter sometime in October.
