Giants Bench Eli Manning; Geno Smith to Start Sunday

Geno Smith, not Eli Manning, will be the starting quarterback for the New York Giants this Sunday.

Two Super Bowl Rings. Two Super Bowl MVP awards. Four Pro-Bowl selections. Those accolades all belong to the Giants’ newest clipboard holder: Eli Manning.

Coach Ben McAdoo has elected to start Geno Smith over longtime starter Eli Manning this coming Sunday in Oakland. Manning had started just over 200 consecutive regular season contests, second only to Brett Favre’s 297.

The switch was inevitable, but many thought it would occur next season rather than with five games to go. Manning reportedly declined the chance to start Sunday when told he’d give way to another quarterback later in the game.

Manning will turn 37 in January and is nearing the end of his professional career. With the aforementioned accolades, Manning has himself a legitimate case for the Hall of Fame.

Smith, formerly the starting quarterback for the New York Jets, will make his first regular-season start since October 2016. After coming back from a torn ACL suffered last October against the Ravens, Smith has been given another shot to start in the NFL.

Since being selected out of West Virginia prior to the 2013 campaign, Smith has completed 57.7% of his passes for 5,962 yards, as well as 28 touchdowns against 36 interceptions, across 34 career games.

Smith may not be the only quarterback auditioning this Sunday. Rookie Davis Webb may also get some snaps under his belt against the Raiders as the franchise attempts to determine whether they need to draft a quarterback next year.

Next: 2018 NFL Mock Draft: Offense dominates early

A Manning-less Giants team will play an Oakland team that has just as much problems at receiver as Big Blue, as Michael Crabtree (and likely Amari Cooper as well) will not suit up Sunday.