Manning back as starting quarterback
The 36-year-old returns to line-up for Sunday’s game against Cowboys
Two-time Super Bowl MVP Eli Manning is back as the New York Giants’ starting quarterback.
A week after being benched by former coach Ben McAdoo, Manning was put back into the starting line-up for Sunday’s game against the Dallas Cowboys by interim coach Steve Spagnuolo. “My gut right now says Eli should be the starter,” Spagnuolo said in explaining the move after practice on Wednesday.
The 36-year-old Manning was told of the decision on Tuesday. He had walked into Spagnuolo’s office on Monday after McAdoo was fired and told the former defensive coordinator that he wanted to start again.
“It’s important to play, that’s what I love to do,” Manning said after practice. “I love to play quarterback and I love to play quarterback for the New York Giants. So that’s what I will work on.”
Manning had started 210 consecutive games over the past 13-plus seasons until being replaced by Geno Smith against Oakland last week. The streak was the second-longest in NFL history, only surpassed by Brett Favre (297).
Tease him
The first hint of the change back to Manning came early in practice when he took the first snap with the offence.
Of course, some of the offensive linemen appeared to tease him as he entered the huddle.
“We reintroduced ourselves to him, especially me,” said tackle Justin Pugh. “I have been out for a little while (three weeks) and I wanted to let him know who I was, even though we shared the scout team huddle last week. It was good to see 10 in there. He has been my quarterback ever since I have been in the league.”
The benching of Manning last week upset the quarterback and angered Giants fans.