Eli Manning returns to a standing ovation from Giants fans
The circumstances that led to Eli Manning’s consecutive-game streak ending were unnecessary and unfortunate, but it led to a heck of a moment for the New York Giants quarterback.
Manning started on Sunday after he was re-installed as quarterback once Ben McAdoo was fired as head coach. And as the Giants’ offense took the field for the first time Sunday, the Giants fans rose and gave a loud and deserved ovation to the quarterback who has led them to two Super Bowl wins.
Not that Manning couldn’t have guessed what he has meant to Giants fans over his career, but that moment had to be special for him.
Manning also threw a touchdown near the end of the first half against the Dallas Cowboys to give the Giants a 10-3 lead. The lead didn’t last as the Cowboys eventually won 30-10. Even though Geno Smith is clearly not a better option than Manning, nobody can save this Giants team. They fell to 2-11 with Manning going 31 of 46 for 228 yards. The Giants have few receivers for Manning to throw to, no running game to help him out and an offensive line that doesn’t protect well. But at least he was back playing.
Manning had 210 consecutive starts, then McAdoo told him he was going to play other quarterbacks with the Giants well out of the playoff race. Manning didn’t want to start simply to keep the streak going, so he sat the bench last week. McAdoo’s ridiculous handling of that situation was criticized heavily and was a factor in him being fired earlier this week. McAdoo will go down in Giants lore as the coach who snapped Manning’s long streak for no real reason.
Manning didn’t want to sit. But Giants fans were able to let Manning know on Sunday exactly how much they respect and appreciate him.
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Frank Schwab is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdown.corner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
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