Giants fans were all in on Eli’s return on Sunday, showing their respect to the veteran two-time Superbowl champ by greeting his entry to the field with a standing ovation in Met-Life stadium. The Giants controversially and unceremoniously benched him last week in favor of Geno Smith following a season full of difficult losses.
Eli and his offense responded with passion, driving down the field bruiser style. But they ultimately had to settle for a field goal, which would tie them 3-3 with the Cowboys in the first quarter. The Cowboys would go on to win the game, keeping their playoff chances alive.
The Giants have been a team surrounded by self- inflicted controversy as of late, with rumors circulating that the locker room had rebelled against head coach Ben McAdoo before he was fired along with general manager Jerry Reese on Monday.
Eli Manning was the poorest choice of a scapegoat that the Giants could have possibly used, as he is certainly one of the most stable pieces of their roster and is a well-respected veteran in the NFL.
The Giants will look to rebuild in the offseason, but time will determine if Eli is willing to come back to the team that tried to frame his as the villain of their lost 2017 season.
Eli’s starting again and @Giants fans are pretty happy about it 🙌 pic.twitter.com/BZ8Jh5plh7
— The Checkdown (@thecheckdown) December 10, 2017
