In a planned change to the rotation, Giants rookie cornerback DeAndre Baker retained his starting job against the Bears but had his workload decreased to get more time on defense for Sam Beal. Baker played 48 of the 76 snaps, and Beal played 28 snaps.
“I thought Sam had some good plays,’’ coach Pat Shurmur said Monday. “I like the fact he was healthy and able to be in the game playing corner. We get to see what we really liked about him. He got some good reps. They caught the deep-in ball on him and it ended up being a penalty. I thought he battled and for the most part was pretty effective.’’
If Baker was bothered by sharing time, he did not show it.
“You don’t see much from DeAndre in those type of situations,’’ Shurmur said. “When he’s out there playing, he’s playing and when he’s standing there, he’s watching attentively.’’
Beal is a second-year player who missed the entire 2018 season on injured reserve. Julian Love, a rookie safety, received his most extensive playing time with 42 snaps on defense and came away with his first NFL interception.