CHICAGO – Teammates kept asking Robert Quinn when he would set the record and refused to let him forget how close he was.
He didn’t really need the reminders.
Quinn broke Hall of Famer Richard Dent’s franchise single-season mark with his 18th sack, and the Chicago Bears pounded the New York Giants 29-3 on Sunday.
“People just didn’t let me forget about it all day,” Quinn said. “While I was just trying to brush it off and play football. Even by the guys on the bench. They just want to see a teammate, brother, everyone be successful.”
Trevis Gipson added a career-high two sacks, and the Bears joined Green Bay as the only franchises with 800 victories counting the postseason. They also gave the embattled Matt Nagy a win in what might have been his final home game as their coach.
Quinn broke Dent’s record of 17 1/2 set in 1984 when took down Mike Glennon from behind and jarred the ball loose in the fourth quarter. The Bears then called a timeout to give him his moment.
By time Quinn passed Dent, Chicago (6-10) was well on its way.
Gipson had a strip-sack on the game’s first play from scrimmage and Tashaun Gipson Sr. picked off Glennon on the next possession. The two takeaways led to a scoring run by David Montgomery and touchdown catch by Darnell Mooney, making it 14-0 and sending the Monsters of the Midway to their second straight win after losing eight of nine.
The Giants (4-12), who could also be in for changes, lost their fifth straight game. They set a season low in yards for the second week in a row, finishing with 151 after being held to 192 against Philadelphia.
“Everything comes under my umbrella, so I am not going to deflect something or say I’m not responsible for something,” coach Joe Judge said. “I am responsible for everything. Let’s make that clear.”
The 31-year-old Quinn continued his remarkable turnaround after finishing with two sacks last season, his first in Chicago. He now has 100 1/2 sacks and needs one to match his career high of 19 with St. Louis in 2013.
“No one in this room except myself gets to see Robert Quinn practice every day the way he plays,” Nagy said. “What a great person to look up to and see if you practice like this, this is what can happen – especially after coming off of last year. Resilient. He’s been through a lot in his life.”
Quinn was diagnosed with a brain tumor when he was 17 and told he wouldn’t survive. Now, he’s a record setter for a founding NFL franchise.
Quinn was glad he did it in 16 games, just like Dent in 1984, and did not need another week. He said that’s something Dent mentioned when they talked Saturday. And he wasn’t sure if the Hall of Famer was really thrilled to see his record broken.
“Does anyone want their record broken?” Quinn said. “I think he was excited. But not really, you know?”
OFFENSE HELPED BY DEFENSE
Andy Dalton threw for 173 yards on a chilly afternoon with rookie Justin Fields missing his second straight game because of an ankle injury. The three-time Pro Bowler was 18 of 35 with a touchdown and interception in his fifth start this season. A lingering groin injury kept him out of last week’s game at Seattle, and with Fields unavailable, Nick Foles led Chicago to a comeback win.
Montgomery ran for two touchdowns. Mooney had 69 yards receiving.
“Our defense played unbelievable all day,” Dalton said. “They kept giving us great field position, kept giving us good opportunities and we definitely left some out there, but it was a big win for us.”
GLENNON STRUGGLES
It was a miserable afternoon for the Giants, particularly Glennon.
The former Bear started over Jake Fromm and completed 4 of 11 passes for 24 yards with two interceptions. He was sacked four times for 34 yards and finished with a 5.3 passer rating.
It’s not hard to see why the Giants simply abandoned the pass after the first two drives. New York committed four turnovers in losing its seventh straight road game.
Saquon Barkley was about the only bright spot, running for 102 yards. It was the most for him since 2019, and he did it in his first game in Chicago since tearing his ACL and MCL against the Bears on Sept. 20, 2020.
“To come here and to be able to have a 100-yard game, at the place where the injury happened, kind of made my career go backward a little bit, it does feel good to get that the monkey off my back at the spot where it felt like it went downhill,” he said.
INJURED
Neither team reported an injury.
UP NEXT
Giants: host Washington next Sunday.
Bears: visit Minnesota next Sunday.
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