The clock is ticking for Eli Manning as a quarterback of the New York Giants and many are wondering just what Eli’s last home start will go down as – it looks now, however, like it will almost certainly be Sunday’s game against the Miami Dolphins. With three games left in the season, it looks like Daniel Jones, the preferred starter even after his ankle injury, is going to miss this one.
That, of course, leaves Manning to step in once again, just as he did on the road against the Eagles on Monday Night Football.
According to SNY’s Ralph Vacchiano, it’s likely that Manning ends up the starter.
A team official said it is “likely” that the 38-year-old Manning will get the nod to make what could be the final home start of his iconic Giants career, this Sunday at the Meadowlands against the Miami Dolphins. Jones was “limited” at practice on Wednesday, as he attempts to recover from a high ankle sprain. And though he didn’t appear to be bothered at all by his injury and said he felt fine, the source said the team will likely take a cautious approach.
The cautious approach with Jones’ injury makes sense when you consider that the Giants are already out of the playoffs and don’t have anything more than pride to play for at this point. Giving Eli Manning another start at home also helps to deal with the dissatisfaction that many have about the way that the Giants moved on from him, which was less than graceful and saw Manning ousted after only two games, following an offseason in which the coaches insisted there were no plans to start Jones.
The Giants have one more home game other than the Dolphins one, their season ending clash with the Eagles, but Jones will most likely be back on the field by then since the Giants have chosen to not shut him down for the year.
Will this be Manning’s last home game for the Giants? We’ll see – but based on the current leanings of the team and their preference to bring Jones back this year, it looks like that may just be the case.