Are the Giants as bad as they've looked?

Probably not. They actually outgained the Titans significantly despite losing 29-10 on Sunday, and they've got a lot of talent on both sides of the ball. I'm excited because the Bears absolutely have a chance to move to 4-0 (they're just 3.5 point underdogs), but let's not get ahead of ourselves.

The Bears are coming off a game in which they had to get super pumped up to play on Monday Night Football against a division rival, they have a short week to prepare, and New York is desperate for a win after falling to the bottom of the NFC East. Hopefully the Bears will be ready and rarin' to go in another prime-time matchup.

Last year's Sunday night Bears games:

@ Green Bay, L, 21-15

@ Atlanta, L, 21-14

vs. Philadelphia, L, 24-20

Not awesome.

The Bears last faced the Giants in 2007, losing 21-16 at home after getting outscored 14-0 in the fourth quarter.

Also not awesome.

As I've said before, the Bears really needed to be 2-2 at the season's quarter-mark. Instead, they're guaranteed to be at least 3-1. But while I've tried to temper expectations a bit, I'm not against a healthy dose of optimism heading into Sunday night--this season's been a ton of fun so far, so what say we keep it rolling?

KEYS TO THE GAME

Missing centerpiece. The Giants' center has been battling ankle tendinitis and the team has struggled to replace him. Eli Manning has been sacked seven times and the Giants have scored 24 points in their last two games.

Prevent the Mario Manningham deep ball. Though Manning looks for Steve Smith and Hakeem Nicks more often (that's one hell of a receiving trio, by the way), Manningham (from? Michigan) is the guy he looks for when he wants to take a shot down field: he averages 17 yards/catch and has already had six receptions of 20 yards or more. As I write this, however (Wednesday), Manningham's status is in doubt due to a concussion.

Try to establish a running game. I know I sound like a broken record, but hear me out: the Giants have allowed just 169 passing yards per game, fourth in the league; but they've allowed 136 rushing yards per game, 26th in the league. I do believe the Bears can have success through the air against almost anyone, but this would be a good week to see if Forte can gain some traction on the ground.