EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- The Chicago Bears dialed up a connection they're expecting to carry into the regular season Friday as Jay Cutler found receiver Brandon Marshall for a 21-yard touchdown with 1:34 left in the opening quarter to take a 7-3 lead over the New York Giants.

The touchdown pass -- on a go route in which Marshall ran past two defenders -- capped a 59-yard drive spanning seven plays.

The Bears fell behind 3-0 early when Giants kicker Lawrence Tynes connected on a 32-yard field goal at the end of the home team's second offensive possession.

Still, the Bears avoided what could have been a touchdown drive by forcing the Giants to settle for a field goal to cap an eight-play drive that chewed up 4:07.

After back-to-back runs of 20 and 15 yards, Giants running back David Wilson caught a 29-yard pass from Eli Manning. At the end of the catch and run, officials flagged safety Craig Steltz for what appeared to be a questionable unnecessary roughness penalty for a hit on Wilson out of bounds. The penalty tacked on an additional 15 yards, putting the Giants at the Chicago 12.

But the Bears took advantage of a Giants holding penalty on the very next play, and snuffed out the rest of the drive to force the field goal.

Offensively, the line protected Cutler fairly well, allowing the quarterback to hit 5 of 8 in the quarter for 58 yards and a passer rating of 124.0.