The Giants are epically bad – like Jacksonville Jaguars bad. The Bears may not be very good either. Who stinks less Thursday night? (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

[And we’re back. It took 13 nights, but my father-in-law and I did it. 62 episodes of Breaking Bad before his departure. Needless to say, he loved the show. I think I even liked it more the second time through. If you like lying, drugs, violence, science and how an unhealthy mix of those things destroys people, families, and relationships, you’d love the show.]

Giants at Bears
The Giants have surrendered 182 points through five games. If math isn’t your strongest subject, that’s over 36 points per game. Both numbers are good enough for dead last in the NFL, trailing even the Jacksonville Jaguars… yes, the Jacksonville Jaguars. In fact, Jacksonville has surrendered 19 fewer points. The Giants have lost by 5, 18, 38, 24, and 15. Jacksonville? 26, 10, 28, 34, and 14. This isn’t a fluky start. The Giants are simply this bad. As Andy Reid and the Eagles learned over the past three seasons, you can’t continue to compete while your defensive deteriorates year in and year out. New York’s defense is horrendous. Justin Tuck may be the most overrated football player in the history of the sport. The Giants won Super Bowls with a tough defense, a pounding running game, and clutch plays by Eli Manning. All three have died off and Manning finds himself under constant pressure and turnover prone.

While the Bears are better, I’m not convinced they’re very good. Chicago started 3-0 by beating a good but flawed Bengals team and then took out two of the NFL’s worst in Minnesota and Pittsburgh. After being clobbered by the Lions and handled by the Saints, it’s possible the Bears just aren’t any good. And again, a deteriorating defense may be mostly to blame. The new NFL is all about offense. Yet, you still can’t win without defense. Chicago’s defense is less bad than New York’s. BEARS If I were Charles Barkley; Bears -7