After nearly 15 years, Eli Manning’s run as starting QB appears to be over. Giants Head Coach Pat Shurmur announced Tuesday that rookie QB Daniel Jones will be getting the start in Week 3 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Shurmur spoke with both Manning and Jones about the decision.
“Eli was obviously disappointed, as you would expect, but he said he would be what he has always been, a good teammate, and continue to prepare to help this team win games. Daniel understands the challenge at hand, and he will be ready to play on Sunday.”- Coach Pat Shurmur said in a release by the team
The end of the Eli Manning era began ticking on draft night when the Giants invested the 6th overall pick in QB Daniel Jones. Everyone seen the writing on the wall that Manning would be replaced at some point this season, but the Week 3 pull seems jarring. The preconceived idea was Jones would replace Manning once the Giants were mathematically out of contention for the playoffs, or some time after the Week 11 bye. Maybe it was Jones’ performance in the preseason that got the Giants excited, or the 2 double digit losses to the Cowboys and Bills to start the season opened the Giants eyes that they’re in a rebuild, but either way the move was made much sooner than expected.
Before we jump into the Daniel Jones era, lets look back on the ultimate rollercoaster career of Eli Manning.
The Ups of Eli Manning’s Career
Very few QB in NFL history have accomplished as much as Eli Manning. Manning made a Giants franchise record 232 starts accumulating 56,537 passing yards (ranks 7th all time), 362 Passing TD (ranks 8th all time), and 4,860 completed passes (ranks 6th all time).
His all time stats are quite impressive, but the reason Eli Manning has Hall of Fame considerations attached to his name is the two Super Bowl runs in 2007 and 2011. In 2007 Manning led the Giants on an impressive run beating the Buccaneers 24-14 in the Wild Card game, upsetting the Cowboys 21-17 in Dallas, and a week later defeating Brett Favre’s Green Bay Packers 23-20 in Lambeau to advance to the Super Bowl.
This is where the legend of Eli Manning was truly born as he and the Wild Card New York Giants slayed the Tom Brady, Bill Belichick, undefeated New England Patriots. Manning won the MVP of the Super Bowl and is part of one of the most memorable plays in Super Bowl history, the David Tyree helmet catch.
Manning and the Giants did it again in 2011. Defeating the Atlanta Falcons 24-2 in the Wild Card game, then defeating the Aaron Rodgers Packers 37-20 in the Divisional round, advancing to the NFC Championship game where the Giants defeated the 49ers 20-17.
We would see a rematch of the 2007-08 Super Bowl between the Giants and the Patriots, and the outcome was no different. Manning and the Giants pulled off the upset yet again, and Manning executed yet another iconic Super Bowl throw, this time to Mario Manningham. The play led to the game winning drive, allowing Manning to capture his second Super Bowl MVP.
The Downs of Eli Manning’s Career
The difficulty of analyzing Eli Manning’s career is the constant downs he and the Giants experienced for most of his career. Assuming Manning’s career as a starting QB is over, he will end up with a 116-116 record. That is well underwhelming to say the least for someone who is a hall of fame QB and franchise QB for 15 years.
If we look at Manning post Super Bowl XLVI, he is arguably the worst full time starting Quarterback. No QB has lost more games (66), thrown more interceptions (112), and have more turnovers (137) than Manning in that time span.
Do we look over the years of bad play by Manning due to his two Super Bowl rings and MVPs? Or when the time comes, do we judge his career as a whole when deciding if he should make the hall of fame? It has been a topic of conversation for years now and will be decided by the voters.
The one thing we do know, regardless of the downs, Eli Manning is the greatest Giants QB of all time and will be a tough act to follow for the 6th overall pick Daniel Jones.
The Dawn of The Daniel Jones Era
Taking the reins from a legend is never easy, especially in the limelight of New York. The media is heavily critical and opinionated, and the tides change often here in New York. You can go from the city clown to savior real quick. If you don’t believe me just take a look for yourself with the Daily News switch up on Daniel Jones in just 145 day.
From this to this in just 144 days! pic.twitter.com/mnNNZVRezi
— Don La Greca (@DonLagreca) September 16, 2019
But that is the world we live in and if Jones plays well, he will be praised and become a star in no time.
When we look at the offensive side of the ball, the Giants have good pieces in place to help develop Jones. Saquon Barkley is arguably the best running back in the league, Evan Engram is a young athletic Tight End who is just waiting to pop, and Sterling Shepard, and Golden Tate give the young QB viable options on the outside. The once putrid offensive line has shown improvement from last season and should continue to get better with time.
With 14 games remaining, Jones has plenty of time to gain experience and get the rookie ups and downs out of the way so the 2020 campaign can be a potential winning season and not a full on rebuild like 2019 appears to be. Time will tell if Jones is the answer at QB post Eli Manning, but one thing is certain, Jones will get a good look considering he was selected with the 6th pick in The NFL draft.
