Not the Kind of Pass Giants Needed : NFC: Reeves passes up 49-yard field-goal try, and Bears win on Butler’s last-second kick, 27-24.

A week after questioning how the New York Giants do things, Dan Reeves is the one being questioned.

Reeves passed up a final-minute, 49-yard field-goal attempt to break a tie. That paved the way for Kevin Butler’s 37-yard field goal with seven seconds to play as the Chicago Bears ended a three-game losing streak with a 27-24 victory on Sunday.

“We knew before the game what the range was, and we needed another five yards to have a legitimate chance for a field goal,” Reeves said of his decision to keep the strong-legged Brad Daluiso on the sidelines and go for a first down on fourth-and-four. “If you miss it there, they get it where the ball was snapped, and they have great field position. We just couldn’t make a play.”

Erik Kramer could make them, though. He completed four of five passes for 36 yards on the Bears’ game-winning, 48-yard march that started after Dave Brown’s fourth-down pass to Howard Cross was knocked down by Keshon Johnson.

“We had plenty of time with all the timeouts,” said Kramer, who completed 25 of 38 passes for 268 yards and two touchdowns. “We got on a roll after I hit a couple of passes.”

That’s something the Bears hadn’t done in recent weeks in losing three games by a total of 17 points.

“There’s been some games in the past where we haven’t run the two-minute drill well,” said Michael Timpson, who caught a pass for one touchdown and ran for another. “Today, fortunately for us, it turned the other way.”

It also left the crowd at Giants Stadium annoyed. Walking off the field, Reeves was serenaded by chants of “Reeves Must Go.”

Daluiso, who had three game-winning field goals last season, defended Reeves’ decision.

“I think we needed another five or six yards to be comfortable,” he said. “Maybe if there were five seconds left in the game you kick it, but not in that situation. Our chances were better not kicking.”

The Giants drove from their 21 to the Bears’ 32 just prior to Reeves’ decision. After Brown missed a third-down swing pass to Keith Elias, he convinced Reeves to go on fourth down rather than punt, Reeves’ initial choice.

“If we had done that [punted], the stadium would have blown up,” Brown said.

What Kramer did left the fans just as unhappy. The Bear quarterback connected with Curtis Conway on passes of 14 and 12 yards and Timpson for 11, the last putting the Bears at the Gaints’ 20 with 12 seconds left. Butler, who earlier missed a 27-yarder, converted to send the Giants (3-9) to their fourth consecutive loss.

“Our motto last week was ‘finish one’ and our guys did it,” Bear Coach Dave Wannstedt said after the win put Chicago in control of its chances for a wild-card berth with four games left in the season. “The defense stopped them and the offense got us into position to win it.”

The Giants’ Rodney Hampton scored on two short runs and Arthur Marshall caught a short touchdown pass from Brown, who was 17 for 33 for 217 yards.