3 things to know about the New York Giants

The New York Giants lost their season opener 26-16 to the Pittsburgh Steelers Monday night. It was the beginning of a new era for the Giants, with rookie head coach Joe Judge taking the helm.

Here are three things to know about Sunday's Bears' opponent:

1. Offensive line needs work

The Giants failed to get running back Saquon Barkley moving. He finished the season opener with 6 yards rushing on 15 attempts.

And it was not his fault.

The Steelers hit Barkley as soon as he had the ball. Barkley remains dangerous. When he did find open space on one reception (he had 6 catches for 60 yards) he hurdled over Steelers cornerback Mike Hilton for one of the niftiest highlights of the night.

The Giants problems on the line are fixable. They were leaving defenders unblocked, with free reign on Barkley and quarterback Daniel Jones. That indicates they were reading the defense wrong, or their communication was off.

Luckily for the Bears the Giants have only one week to iron out the problems.

The Bears pass rush was uninspiring for stretches of the win over Detroit. Against a hapless offensive line, they will need that to change.

2. Slayton could have big year

Second-year Giants receiver Darius Slayton carved up the Steelers defense to the tune of six catches for 102 yards and two touchdowns. His first touchdown was a 41-yard deep pass from Jones down the middle. He caught a 7-yarder late in the game.

It was Slayton's third 100-yard receiving game of his career, and his fourth two-touchdown effort. The Giants are hoping the former fifth-round draft pick can emerge as a consistent threat. If he does, it will make it that much harder for defenses to key on Barkley.

This should be a bigger test for the Bears secondary than Detroit, which played without top receiver Kenny Golladay.

Slayton caught four passes for 67 yards against the Bears Nov. 24, 2019 at Soldier Field.

3. A familiar face

The Bears had hoped to be rid of linebacker Blake Martinez when he opted to leave the Green Bay Packers in free agency. Martinez was a menace in two games against the Bears last season.

He signed a three-year, $30 million contract with the Giants, but the Bears will deal with him only once.

Martinez was the highest-graded player for the Giants in Week 1, according to Pro Football Focus, with a team-leading 13 tackles.

He led the Packers with 11 tackles against the Bears Dec. 15 at Lambeau Field.