Fumble spoils Eli milestone

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Eli Manning made his 208th consecutive regular start Sunday at Levi’s Stadium, tying brother Peyton for the second longest streak in NFL history behind Brett Favre. Peyton Manning even was on hand at Sunday’s Giants-49ers game to see his brother match the feat and joined Eli on field briefly during warmups. The Mannings won’t remember the milestone fondly, though.

While Eli Manning completed 28-of-37 for 273 yards and two TDs, his second-quarter redzone fumble after a week of Ben McAdoo emphasizing ball security was inconceivable. Manning, being sacked by Ronald Blair, tried to shovel the ball out with his hand and ended up rolling it like a bowling ball onto the turf for safety Eric Reid to recover. “I’ve got to hold onto it,” Manning said. “I have to do a better job doing that and keep two hands on the ball, and just got to throw it. Had one hand on it, but I have to cover it, get a knee down and hold onto it as long as I can.” Right tackle Justin Pugh, who labored through the first half with a back injury that sidelined him for the second half, surrendered the sack and took responsibility, too. “I took points off the board letting up that sack,” Pugh said.

Favre (297) will be difficult to catch. However, the Giants’ QB will break Peyton’s record of consecutive starts for a single NFL franchise if he starts next Sunday’s Week 11 home game against the Chiefs. Favre’s streak (19922010) spanned three different organizations: the Packers, Jets and Vikings. Peyton Manning built his entire streak (1998-2011) with the Colts. — Leonard