Good Eli? Maybe
We’ve arrived to a new low in New York where Eli Manning outplaying a undrafted second-year quarterback comes as a surprise.
But that’s just how bad things have gotten.
The New York Giants got a Herculean effort out of their two-time Super Bowl winning quarterback as he put together his most impressive game of the season.
Manning finished with 188 passing yards and three touchdown passes as the Giants erased a 10-point second half deficit in their 27-23 win at Levi’s Stadium on Monday night.
The Monday night quarterback matchup inspired some lighthearted jabs on social media, but this was a good game to watch, with Manning leading the Giants on a 9 play/75-yard drive that ended in a three-yard touchdown strike to Sterling Shepard with 53 seconds remaining to win the game for New York.
No matter how much the Monday Night Football announce crew wanted to toot second-year quarterback Nick Mullens’ — who was coming off a three touchdown performance last Thursday night vs the Oakland Raiders — horn for completing passes five-yard passes all night long, any quarterback that turns the football over is proving to be a obstacle rather than a asset.
Not to be harsh on the Southern Mississippi alum, he did make some impressive throws considering this was his second career pro start for a team that’s limited at wide receiver, but protecting the football is a quarterback’s first priority.
Mullens finished the game with 250 passing yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. He would complete 69 percent of his passes, a plus for any young quarterback, especially a quarterback who was apart of the scout team just two weeks ago.
It’s been well-documented just how bad Eli Manning and the Giants offense has been this season, and understandably Manning should shoulder a bulk of the blame for that.
On this night, however, the offensive line did its job and allowed Manning to work with a clean pocket throughout against the 49ers secondary.
Manning dinked and dunked his way through the night, not putting the ball in harms way. Read that again, not putting the ball in harms way.
The 37-year-old quarterback came in with just eight touchdowns to six interceptions, not a winning recipe at quarterback. So whenever Manning goes out and throws three scores to no picks, it changes the dynamic for New York drastically.
What does a win over the San Francisco 49ers mean? It means they’re 2-7 and won their first game since Week 3.
Odell Beckham Jr., who finished with four receptions for 73 receiving yards and two touchdowns, has his eyes on the playoffs.
While that damn sure ain’t happening this season, this team could at least try to use this win as something to build on going into 2019.
That doesn’t seem that far away with how the Giants have played this season, afterall.
Good Eli or Bad 49ers? Leave your comments below!