Chicago Bears vs. New York Giants: Starting Lineup Projections for Each Team

The second week of the NFL preseason looked a lot more like a regular season week in the NFL as teams look to play their starters more extensively opposed to week 1. The New York Giants and Chicago Bears will continue that trend tonight on Monday Night Football.

Here are projections for how each starter will do:

Quarterbacks:

Eli Manning—10-for-18, 88 yards, 0 TDs, 1 INT.

I believe Manning will play about twice what he played last week against the Panthers. However, the Bears' vaunted first group will make life tough for him and disrupt the offense continually.

Jay Cutler—8-of-16, 75 yards, 0 TD, 2 INT.

Cutler will be able to get chunks of yardage to Johnny Knox, but the pass rush from New York will shut him down while the talented secondary takes advantage of the pressure he is under.

Running Backs:

Ahmad Bradshaw—7 carries, 20 yards.

The Bears have a very good run-stuffing front four and Bradshaw will do well to hold onto the ball as their linebackers hunt him down.

Marion Barber—8 carries, 50 yards.

Barber has renewed life, it appears, after last week's performance with his new team. Tough running between the tackles could give the Bears some success tonight.

Wide Receivers:

Hakeem Nicks—4 receptions, 47 yards.

Mario Manningham—1 reception, 18 yards.

Nicks' and Manningham's explosiveness will be hindered by the Bears ability to get into the Giants backfield early on.

Roy Williams—1 reception, 10 yards.

Johnny Knox—4 receptions, 40 yards.

Williams won't get much success off of Corey Webster, so Johnny Knox should see a lot of passes headed his way early on.

Defensive statistics:

Jason Pierre-Paul—2 sacks.

Justin Tuck—2 sacks.

Tuck will be double-teamed but will still find his way into the backfield, while Jason Pierre-Paul will cause all sorts of problems for J'Marcus Webb.

Julius Peppers—2 sacks.

Idonije will be kept in check, but as always, there will be no stopping Peppers. Peppers will be able to overpower William Beatty and overcome whatever double teams the Giants throw his way.

Brian Urlacher—1 INT.

Urlacher will get the better of young starting tight end Travis Beckum and beat him to one of Manning's passes over the middle to come up with the turnover.

Kenny Phillips—1 INT.

Cutler is never afraid to sling the ball, and Philips will be able to take advantage when he looks to force the ball into tight windows as the Giants get the better of the Bears offense.

Corey Webster—1 INT.

Webster is going to get the better of his battle with Williams. Williams will only register one reception while Webster comes up with a catch of his own.

Conclusion:

The starters on both sides should see some significant time likely lasting into the second quarter and the full half on defense. Defenses will dominate this game as neither offensive line is equipped to deal with the pass rushing specialist lining up across from them.