Manning’s job with Giants on the line?
Never mind that the New Orleans Saints have won as many games since Oct. 28 — three — as the New York Giants and San Francisco 49ers together have won all season.
That this game is on Monday Night Football (8:15 p.m. EST, TSN via ESPN) isn’t the only thing special about this mid-season matchup of disappointing teams.
If he has another clunker game, this could wind up as quarterback Eli Manning ’s last start in the Big Apple — or at least one of his last starts.
This is the 37-year-old Manning’s 15th season as starter for the Giants.
Since being promoted to No. 1 during his 2004 rookie season, the only start he has missed came last season when then-coach Ben McAdoo relegated him to the bench.
That the Giants find themselves 1-7 through eight games for the second straight season hasn’t done much for Manning’s job security. Neither has his propensity this year for bailing out of pass plays early, to dump off to a back or tight end.
First-year Giants head coach Pat Shurmur assured the New York press corps late last week that Manning would be his starter but wouldn’t guarantee anything beyond Monday’s game against the Niners. Manning ’s take on that? “You worry about this week,” he said. “We’ve got the 49ers. I’ve got a job to do, and I’m going to do it to the best of my ability.”
Manning is feeling a sense of urgency.
“For sure. We got to get some wins,” he said. “We got to get going, and everybody wants it. The team needs it, for the morale and for just the hard work and everything we put in. Just need to reap the benefits of the work, and feel good about what we’re doing.”
The 2-7 49ers, meantime, hope to win for the second time in as many starts with out-of-nowhere, undrafted, second-season quarterback Nick Mullens at the helm.
He only achieved the highest passer rating (151.9) by any NFL player in his first game since the 1970 merger in San Francisco’s 34-3 crushing of the Oakland Raiders a couple of Thursdays ago.
Mullens got the start in place of injured C.J. Beathard, who became starter in September when Jimmy Garoppolo tore an ACL.
“He had a heck of a game against Oakland, and he’s an NFL quarterback,” Giants secondary coach Lou Anarumo said of Mullens.
“He’ll present different challenges for us. We’ve had enough tape to watch on. We saw what he did in the pre-season and what happened in the Oakland game.”