49ers-Giants preview: QB Nick Mullens key to victory on Monday Night Football
By Chris Wilson
Giants QB Eli Manning
New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning’s 15-year career has been one-of-a-kind.
The son of a former Pro Bowl quarterback and the younger brother of a future Hall-of-Fame QB, Manning started his NFL career in full-blown prima donna fashion, as the first overall pick of the 2004 NFL Draft refused to play for the team that drafted him.
After forcing a trade to the Giants, Manning started 210 consecutive games for his new team before he was benched in Week 17 of last season. Manning has been durable throughout his career, but he’s been far from consistent, as he’s won barely more than half of his NFL starts.
Depending on the year, the game or the quarter, Manning’s play can see-saw between unstoppable and inexcusable — which explains why the younger Manning led the NFL in interceptions three times, yet beat his older brother in their race to a second Super Bowl ring:
| Year | Age | Tm | G | GS | QBrec | Cmp | Att | Cmp% | Yds | TD | TD% | Int | Int% | Lng | Y/A | AY/A | Y/C | Y/G | Rate | QBR | Sk | Yds | NY/A | ANY/A | Sk% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | 23 | NYG | 9 | 7 | 1-6 | 95 | 197 | 48.2 | 1043 | 6 | 3.0 | 9 | 4.6 | 52 | 5.3 | 3.8 | 11.0 | 115.9 | 55.4 | 13 | 83 | 4.57 | 3.21 | 6.2 | |
| 2005 | 24 | NYG | 16 | 16 | 11-5 | 294 | 557 | 52.8 | 3762 | 24 | 4.3 | 17 | 3.1 | 78 | 6.8 | 6.2 | 12.8 | 235.1 | 75.9 | 28 | 184 | 6.12 | 5.63 | 4.8 | |
| 2006 | 25 | NYG | 16 | 16 | 8-8 | 301 | 522 | 57.7 | 3244 | 24 | 4.6 | 18 | 3.4 | 55 | 6.2 | 5.6 | 10.8 | 202.8 | 77.0 | 52.3 | 25 | 186 | 5.59 | 4.99 | 4.6 |
| 2007 | 26 | NYG | 16 | 16 | 10-6 | 297 | 529 | 56.1 | 3336 | 23 | 4.3 | 20 | 3.8 | 60 | 6.3 | 5.5 | 11.2 | 208.5 | 73.9 | 54.6 | 27 | 217 | 5.61 | 4.82 | 4.9 |
| 2008* | 27 | NYG | 16 | 16 | 12-4 | 289 | 479 | 60.3 | 3238 | 21 | 4.4 | 10 | 2.1 | 48 | 6.8 | 6.7 | 11.2 | 202.4 | 86.4 | 63.2 | 27 | 174 | 6.06 | 6.00 | 5.3 |
| 2009 | 28 | NYG | 16 | 16 | 8-8 | 317 | 509 | 62.3 | 4021 | 27 | 5.3 | 14 | 2.8 | 74 | 7.9 | 7.7 | 12.7 | 251.3 | 93.1 | 69.8 | 30 | 216 | 7.06 | 6.89 | 5.6 |
| 2010 | 29 | NYG | 16 | 16 | 10-6 | 339 | 539 | 62.9 | 4002 | 31 | 5.8 | 25 | 4.6 | 92 | 7.4 | 6.5 | 11.8 | 250.1 | 85.3 | 61.1 | 16 | 117 | 7.00 | 6.09 | 2.9 |
| 2011* | 30 | NYG | 16 | 16 | 9-7 | 359 | 589 | 61.0 | 4933 | 29 | 4.9 | 16 | 2.7 | 99 | 8.4 | 8.1 | 13.7 | 308.3 | 92.9 | 64.0 | 28 | 199 | 7.67 | 7.45 | 4.5 |
| 2012* | 31 | NYG | 16 | 16 | 9-7 | 321 | 536 | 59.9 | 3948 | 26 | 4.9 | 15 | 2.8 | 80 | 7.4 | 7.1 | 12.3 | 246.8 | 87.2 | 67.0 | 19 | 136 | 6.87 | 6.59 | 3.4 |
| 2013 | 32 | NYG | 16 | 16 | 7-9 | 317 | 551 | 57.5 | 3818 | 18 | 3.3 | 27 | 4.9 | 70 | 6.9 | 5.4 | 12.0 | 238.6 | 69.4 | 39.3 | 39 | 281 | 5.99 | 4.55 | 6.6 |
| 2014 | 33 | NYG | 16 | 16 | 6-10 | 379 | 601 | 63.1 | 4410 | 30 | 5.0 | 14 | 2.3 | 80 | 7.3 | 7.3 | 11.6 | 275.6 | 92.1 | 62.5 | 28 | 187 | 6.71 | 6.67 | 4.5 |
| 2015* | 34 | NYG | 16 | 16 | 6-10 | 387 | 618 | 62.6 | 4432 | 35 | 5.7 | 14 | 2.3 | 87 | 7.2 | 7.3 | 11.5 | 277.0 | 93.6 | 60.5 | 27 | 157 | 6.63 | 6.74 | 4.2 |
| 2016 | 35 | NYG | 16 | 16 | 11-5 | 377 | 598 | 63.0 | 4027 | 26 | 4.3 | 16 | 2.7 | 75 | 6.7 | 6.4 | 10.7 | 251.7 | 86.0 | 49.3 | 21 | 142 | 6.28 | 5.95 | 3.4 |
| 2017 | 36 | NYG | 15 | 15 | 3-12 | 352 | 571 | 61.6 | 3468 | 19 | 3.3 | 13 | 2.3 | 77 | 6.1 | 5.7 | 9.9 | 231.2 | 80.4 | 45.4 | 31 | 189 | 5.45 | 5.11 | 5.1 |
| 2018 | 37 | NYG | 8 | 8 | 1-7 | 215 | 315 | 68.3 | 2377 | 8 | 2.5 | 6 | 1.9 | 58 | 7.5 | 7.2 | 11.1 | 297.1 | 90.9 | 41.8 | 31 | 231 | 6.20 | 5.88 | 9.0 |
| Care | Care | 224 | 222 | 112-110 | 4639 | 7711 | 60.2 | 54059 | 347 | 4.5 | 234 | 3.0 | 99 | 7.0 | 6.5 | 11.7 | 241.3 | 83.8 | 390 | 2699 | 6.34 | 5.90 | 4.8 |
Provided by Pro-Football-Reference.com: View Original Table
As his career has neared its end, so has the excitement of Manning’s passing game. The 37-year-old quarterback has learned to embrace the dump-off pass, which has resulted in improvements in completion percentage and interception rate, but also fewer touchdowns, and most importantly, fewer victories.
In 2018, Manning is on pace to break career records in both passing attempts and completion percentage. Unfortunately, he’s also on pace to throw the fewest number of touchdown passes in his career.
With Manning less willing or able to test defenses, and further slowed by age, opposing defenses have been able to take advantage of New York’s porous offensive line throughout the 2018 season. Manning has been sacked a league-leading 31 times this year, which equals the second largest total of his career, despite the fact that the Giants have played only eight games.
Manning still has a number of top passing options at his disposal, including Barkley, star wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. and second-year tight end Evan Engram, so the best strategy for stopping the Giants’ offense is to put their quarterback on his back before he can get rid of the ball.