EAST RUTHERFORD -- The Giants fell into their old, predictable habits in Sunday's 22-16 win over the Bears. After showing some creativity in two wins after their bye week, the Giants went back to basics in an offensive struggle against the lowly Bears.

The Giants were in their standard 11 personnel grouping (one running back, one tight end, three wide receivers) on 59 of their 62 snaps (not including kneel downs). The only exceptions were two snaps with offensive lineman Will Beatty lined up as a jumbo tight end (in what was still technically 11 personnel) and one snap with two tight ends.

Within that 11 personnel grouping, the Giants showed very little variety with their alignments. The wide receivers almost always lined up in the same spots. Here's how the slot snaps broke down: Sterling Shepard had 51, Odell Beckham Jr. had 8, Dwayne Harris had 2 and Victor Cruz had 0.

Only once did the Giants line up with their receivers in a trips formation and twice they went with an empty backfield by splitting out the running back and tight end.

The predictability hurts Beckham. It's much easier for defenses to focus their attention on the star receiver when he's lined up by himself on one side of the field. Putting Beckham in the slot or in bunch formations with other receivers helps muddle the picture as the defense tries to lock in on the dangerous playmaker.

The Giants also reverted back to operating almost exclusively from the shotgun on Sunday. They had been in the shotgun for 67 percent of their snaps in the previous two games, but that spiked to 82 percent on Sunday.

The Giants were surprisingly effective running out of the shotgun, as the running backs had 17 carries for 90 yards. Quarterback Eli Manning completed 19-of-32 passes for 196 yards and two touchdowns out of the shotgun.

The Giants had eight carries for just 11 yards and a touchdown from under center. Manning completed 2-of-4 passes for 31 yards from under center. Both of the completions came on play-action passes, which is much more effective from under center.

A few other offensive notes:

*Manning didn't have any turnovers but he came close to a devastating interception in crunch time. On third-and-10 with 3:25 remaining, Manning rolled to his right and was immediately under pressure because the Giants tried to use wide receiver Dwayne Harris to block linebacker Pernell McPhee.

Predictably, McPhee blew up Harris and was bearing down on Manning immediately. Manning didn't want to take a sack deep in his own territory, but his decision to loft a pass to running back Rashad Jennings in the flat was almost costlier. Jennings tipped the pass and it was nearly intercepted before falling incomplete.

*Manning was very effective navigating the pocket. He scrambled four yards for a first down in the third quarter and then hit Victor Cruz for a 48-yard gain after escaping a collapsing pocket on the next play. He also did a good job of climbing the pocket on fourth-and-2 in the first quarter when Bears linebacker Leonard Floyd blew past left tackle Ereck Flowers. Manning hit Sterling Shepard on a crossing route for a 15-yard gain to set up the Giants' first touchdown.

*The Giants ran two screens early that picked up a combined 29 yards, but they never went back to the play. A screen would have been a good call late when the Bears were gearing up to stop the run.

*Left guard Marshall Newhouse and tight end Jerell Adams did a nice job pulling to open a hole for Jennings' 21-yard run in the second quarter.

JPP ignites the defense

After allowing two touchdowns and a field goal on the Bears' first three possessions, the Giants' defense came to life at the end of the second quarter. Defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul single-handedly derailed a drive that reached the Giants' 36-yard line. Pierre-Paul knocked down a pass on first down and then drew a holding penalty on third down that pushed the Bears out of field goal range.

Pierre-Paul was even more dominant on the Bears' final drive. After cornerback Eli Apple was beat by a stutter/go route that gained 35 yards to the Giants' 43, Pierre-Paul drew a holding penalty on right guard Ted Larsen while rushing from the left defensive tackle spot. A 23-yard completion got the Bears to the Giants' 30 before Pierre-Paul caused a 14-yard loss on a strip sack. The Bears weren't able to recover from the setback and Jay Cutler threw a desperation interception with 1:11 remaining.

*The deep ball allowed by Apple demonstrated the downside of being aggressive. The rookie corner was matched up 1-on-1 with Marquess Wilson because the Giants sent slot corner Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and linebacker Keenan Robinson on a blitz that was picked up.

*Defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins was active in the middle with six tackles, one tackle for a loss and a half-sack. Hankins and fellow defensive tackle Damon Harrison also helped the edge rushers on their sacks by getting a strong push up the middle. Harrison deserves kudos for chasing down running back Jordan Howard 22 yards downfield on a screen pass in the third quarter.

*The Bears' offensive line was ripe for the picking, as they were without three starters by the midpoint of the third quarter. Not surprisingly, the Giants recorded all four of their sacks in the fourth quarter.

*The Giants' linebackers struggled mightily in the first half. They couldn't get off blocks and they were picked on in coverage.

Jay Cutler made a great throw on a 19-yard touchdown pass to tight end Zach Miller in the first quarter, but Devon Kennard looked uncomfortable in coverage on the play. Keenan Robinson had a tough assignment on a 34-yard seam route to Miller in the first quarter. Robinson had been lined up over center and never caught up as he chased Miller down the seam. The Giants blitzed defensive backs Landon Collins and Trevin Wade on the play and they were easily picked up.

The photo below shows Kennard, Kelvin Sheppard (double-teamed) and Jonathan Casillas failing to disengage from blocks on a 27-yard run by Howard in the second quarter.

*Miller left the game late in the first half with a foot injury and it was clear that the Giants no longer respected the Bears' passing game. The Giants loaded the box to stop the run in the second half and they were successful. The Bears had 17 carries for 88 yards in the first half and eight carries for just five yards in the second half.

*The Giants only had four penalties for 35 yards, but there were a few inexcusable mental mistakes.

When the Bears had second-and-goal at the 1-yard line in the second quarter, the Giants sent in their goal-line personnel. The only problem was that linebacker Mark Herzlich and defensive tackle Jay Bromley came onto the field, but only safety Andrew Adams left. Cornerback Eli Apple was supposed to exit, but he stayed on and the Giants were flagged for 12 men on the field.

The Giants had to burn a timeout on a second-quarter field goal attempt because they only had 10 men on the field. Offensive lineman Will Beatty was the missing player.

The Bears punted with 14 seconds remaining in the first half from the Giants' 42-yard line. Inexplicably, returner Dwayne Harris called for a fair catch on the punt at the Giants' 14. The Giants then kneeled the ball and went to the locker room for halftime. Why would the Giants risk a muffed punt (which happened later) on such a windy day in that situation?

Dan Duggan may be reached at dduggan@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @DDuggan21. Find our Giants coverage on Facebook.