Eli Manning benched by Giants in favor of Geno Smith

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. » The Eli Manning era with the New York Giants may be coming to an end.

And if it is, it is ending ugly.

The Giants announced Tuesday that the two-time Super Bowl MVP was being benched for the first time in more than 13 years so they could evaluate the other quarterbacks on the roster over the final month of a lost-and-injury-filled season.

The decision to sit the 36-year-old Manning was totally unexpected, especially with five games left in the regular season.

It was clear the decision hurt and annoyed Manning, who has been the face of the Giants (2-9) since they made a bold draft day trade with the-then San Diego Chargers in 2004 to swap first-round picks and get the No. 1 overall selection to the Meadowlands.

Manning expressed his unhappiness but once again he played the good soldier, voicing his support for veteran Geno Smith, who will start against Oakland on Sunday.

His emotional pain was all over his face. His eyes welled with tears talking to reporters. His chin quivered when asked about how much this hurt. His face got red the more he talked.

Coach Ben McAdoo gave Manning the option of starting to keep his streak of 210 consecutive starts alive, but he didn’t want any part of that.

“You start knowing you are going to come out of the game to keep a streak alive, maybe, that’s not what it is about,” Manning said.

Manning’s voice broke when asked how this one hurt, noting it was one of his hardest days as a Giant.

“It’s been a hard day to handle this, but (I’ll) hang in there and figure it out,” he said.

Crabtree, Talib have suspensions reduced

ALAMEDA » Oakland receiver Michael Crabtree and Denver cornerback Aqib Talib had their two-game suspensions reduced to one game after appeal hearings on Tuesday.

Derrick Brooks heard Crabtree’s case and James Thrash heard Talib’s appeal, and both decided to reduce the two-game bans issued Monday by NFL Vice President of Football Operations Jon Runyan.

The fight during Oakland’s 21-14 win on Sunday was a continuation of a dispute that started last season when Talib ripped Crabtree’s chain off during the season finale. Crabtree missed the first game between the teams this year but didn’t wait long to seek revenge.

Crabtree punched Denver cornerback Chris Harris Jr. while blocking him on the first play of Oakland’s second drive. He then aggressively blocked Talib on a running play and drove him to the ground on the Broncos’ sideline on the following play, starting the brawl.

49ers tap Garoppolo as starting QB

SANTA CLARA » The San Francisco 49ers are ready for the start of the Jimmy Garoppolo era after announcing Tuesday that the franchise’s quarterback of the future will make his first start for the team this week.

Coach Kyle Shanahan met with Garoppolo and former starter C.J. Beathard to inform them that Garoppolo will make his first start for San Francisco (1-10) on Sunday at Chicago (3-8).

The Niners acquired Garoppolo on Oct. 31 from New England for a 2018 second-round pick to be the franchise’s long-term quarterback even though he had made only two starts in three-plus seasons for the Patriots.

After taking time to learn the new offense, Garoppolo made his San Francisco debut in Sunday’s 24-13 loss to Seattle after starter Beathard left with injuries to his hip and knee with just over a minute left.

Garoppolo completed both passes, including a 10-yard touchdown pass to Louis Murphy. Now he will get an even bigger opportunity to show what he can do for his new team.