CHICAGO — When you looked at the final book of statistics, the first reflex was to double-check the date: it insisted these numbers were from Oct. 10, 2013, but it certainly seemed like sometimes in 2007, or 2009 or 2011.
Because these were the numbers for Brandon Jacobs, formerly No. 27, presently No. 34, and for the foreseeable future the No. 1 running back for the Giants:
Attempts: 22.
Yards: 106.
Average: 4.8
Long: 16.
TD: 2.
“We got a great football game out of him,” coach Tom Coughlin said after the Giants’ 27-21 loss to the Bears that would have been significantly more one-sided if not for Jacobs’ turn-back-the-clock performance. “He ran hard and took control and he pushed piles into the end zones a couple of times for us.”
Jacobs had plenty of reason to believe his career might be done after the 49ers parted ways with him last year and as he began this season without a team to call home. David Wilson’s fumbling woes gave him a chance to return to the scene of his greatest glories; Wilson’s potentially season-ending injury installed him as the Giants’ feature back, at age 31.
“My body feels good,” Jacobs said, “but my pride is hurt, just like every other man in this locker room.”
As always, Jacobs was direct and he was blunt. Asked if he surprised himself with his throwback effort, Jacobs shook his head and said, “I just did what was asked of me. They asked me to carry the ball, and I did. But we lost. So that doesn’t mean anything.”
Wait, there was more: “We should’ve beaten these guys,” he said. “But we didn’t. It’s bizarre. We’re 0-6. And we have to live with that.”
On the list of things the Giants were hoping to feel good about six weeks into the season, the return of Jacobs was probably on the eighth auxiliary list at the start of the year. Now it’s starting to feel like the one reason the Giants might still have a puncher’s chance in the 10 games ahead of them.
“We’ve got to stick with the coaches, stick with each other and keep it going,” Jacobs said. “One play at a time. One game at a time.”