Eli Manning Plays Well, But Giants Lose in OT

EAGLES 23 - GIANTS 17 
Overtime 

Eli Manning made his return to the starting lineup, Monday night, and were it not for an Eagles second half rally, and eventual win in overtime, it was a successful return to the field. Yes, the Giants lost their ninth straight game; they stand at a woeful 2-11, as head coach Pat Shurmur's seat continues to get red hot by the day.

But for one half of football anyway, Eli Manning proved that he can still play in this league. He proved in one half of football that Pat Shurmur and David Gettleman were too quick to pull the trigger on him after a Week 2 loss to the Buffalo Bills. He proved that he has enough left in the tank to play at a high level and win. Unfortunately for Eli Manning, he is playing on a dumpster fire of a football team.

In the first half Manning looked great. He was 11-of-19 for 179 yards and two touchdowns, both of which were long distance TD's to Darius Slayton of 35-yards and 55-yards respectively, as Big Blue built a 17-3 lead.

However, the second half was a different animal. Manning was only 4-of-11 for 24 yards. The Giants offense went completely into a shell, unable to move the football, as Shurmur went the conservative root of running Saquon Barkely into an incompetent Giants offensive line.

Nothing was more frustrating for Giants fans to watch then to see Shurmur on two seperate occasions, with a 2-10 football team, decide to punt on fourth on short when his team desperately needed a big play, especially out its future Hall of Fame quarterback. Shurmur took the ball out of Eli's hands and gave up on his team.

The Giants had a fourth and five at their own 41, leading 17-10, and decided not to go for it. They should have been more aggressive. The worst was punting on fourth and three at the 32-yard line with the game knotted at 17. Sometimes you have to just role the dice, and Shurmur refused to do that.

Instead the Eagles came to life in the second half. Carson Wentz went from being booed out of Lincoln Financial Field in the first half, to being a conquering hero  by the end of overtime.

Wentz carved up the Giants, throwing to the likes of Dallas Goedart, Boston Scott and Josh Perkins as they erased a 14-point deficit. Before the Giants knew what hit them, Zach Ertz was in the end zone for his first touchdown catch of the night to tie the game at 17.

In overtime, the Eagles were on fire, as Wentz engineered an eight-play 75-yard drive, with Boston Scott's 25-yard run to the Giants 39-yard line proving the turning point. A few plays later, Wentz found Ertz again in the end zone for the game winner.

Manning never got the chance to touch the football in overtime; Shurmur's copout on fourth and three was the last time we saw him.

Whether we see Eli Manning under center again in a Giants uniform this season is unknown. One would figure he would at least get the start against Miami next Sunday, but who knows. If it is the last time, Manning gave it his all, left it one the field, and more importantly showed, he's still got game.