The Chicago Bears met the Giants in a highly anticipated showdown of NFC powerhouses. Since both teams were leading their respective divisions at the time, NBC took advantage of the NFL's new flexible scheduling policy and made this matchup the first to ever be moved to primetime from Sunday afternoon. The Giants got off to a good start when Bears quarterback Rex Grossman was intercepted by Mathias Kiwanuka, returning the ball to the Chicago one-yard line. Running back Brandon Jacobs plowed in for a 7-0 lead. After forcing two Chicago turnovers, kicker Jay Feely atoned for an early miss (33 yards) with two long field goals giving New York a 13-3 lead late in the first half. The Bears responded making the first of several game-turning plays. On third and 22, with the Giants likely to get another possession before half's end, running back Thomas Jones ran practically untouched for a first down. A few plays later, Grossman hit Mark Bradley on a 29-yard strike putting the Bears within three. At the start of the second half, the Bears used excellent field position and soft coverage to make big plays, getting inside the Giants 10-yard line. Grossman hit a strike to Muhsin Muhammad for a 17-13 lead. Following a forced fumble, the Bears broke the game open on a Grossman two-yard pass to tight end Desmond Clark. The Giants did not fold; running back Tiki Barber (19 carries, 141 yards) broke a 46-yard run to put the Giants inside the Chicago 10. Jacobs capped off the drive with his second touchdown run, getting New York within four. After a Bears punt, kick return star Devin Hester broke the Giants' backs. Facing a long 51-yard field goal into swirling winds, Jay Feely's kick fell well short and into Hester's hands in the end zone. Seeing the Giants' players not paying attention, Hester scampered up the sideline with the ball for a 108-yard touchdown return to put their lead back to eleven and effectively put the game out of reach. A late touchdown run by Thomas Jones closed the scoring and gave the Bears a 38-20 victory. For the Giants, Plaxico Burress and David Tyree finished with four catches, and Fred Robbins and R.W. McQuarters had sacks. Eli Manning in his worst performance of the season, threw for 121 yards and two interceptions in the defeat.

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