New York Giants quarterback, Daniel Jones, suffered a high ankle sprain injury against the Green Bay Packers in Week 13 and will most likely miss the next game. Head coach Pat Shurmur said Eli Manning will get the start against the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday Night Football if Jones’ ankle does not improve.
Shurmur benched Eli Manning after an atrocious start when the Giants began the season 0-2. Jones, the Giants first round pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, looked good in his first two-career starts by securing two wins. However, the Giants lost eight straight games since then.
With Jones sidelined with a sprained ankle injury, it’s up to Manning to help the Giants stop the losing skid. Manning also gets one more chance to start before his career ends with the Giants.
In the ten games since he replaced Manning as the starter, Jones threw 18 touchdowns with 11 interceptions and 10 lost fumbles. He’s thrown for 2,374 yards and completed 61.6 percent of his passes. Jones struggled in a 31-13 loss to Green Bay with only one touchdown and three interceptions.
High Ankle Sprains, NJ
Jones injured his ankle in the second quarter of the Green Bay game. He twisted it during a QB sneak when a beefy Packers lineman rolled over on him. Jones finished the Green Bay game with the ankle injury and played through the pain in the second half.
Team doctors told Jones his ankle injury is similar to the high sprain that teammate Saquon Barkley suffered earlier in the season. Jones does not require surgery for his high ankle sprain, but he needs to stay off it and let nature run its course.
Barkley did not require surgery but missed a month of action. He has not looked the same since his return and NYC talk radio has been lit up with disgruntled fans who wished that the Giants kept Barkley on the sidelines for another month to let him fully heal his high ankle sprain.
The term “high ankle sprains” sounds more like a exit on the New Jersey Turnpike than the current medical issue plaguing the Giants.
Comeback: Eli Manning Starter
Let’s not get too ahead of ourselves here and twist the narrative into a bigger story than the simple reality: the starting quarterback is injured and the backup will take his place. Of course, this Manning and Jones story quickly blows up because the Giants play in the largest media market in the world.
Plus, it involves Manning who won two Super Bowls for the Giants but his diminished skills were too much for fans to watch as he struggled all of last season and the first two games of this season.
“I’ve missed being part of the action,” Manning said after he took snaps in practice with the starters. “It felt good to be out there today.”
Manning threw only two touchdowns and two interceptions in his two starts this season in losses against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 1 and the Buffalo Bills in Week 2.
“Obviously, we’ll see what happens Monday,” said Manning. “Just business as usual, in the sense of get the game plan, start prepping for Philly, going against a good defense but also a defense that we’ve faced a number of years and know them well. Got to get back into the mix with the offensive line and receivers and make sure timing is where it needs to be.”
The Giants hope to have WR Golden Tate back in the lineup. He missed the last game with a concussion, which occurred when he caught a touchdown pass against the Chicago Bears in Week 12. The G-Men also hope that tight end, Evan Engram, will make his first start since Week 9. Engram missed several games with a foot injury.
Giants and Eagles 2x
The Giants play their NFC East nemesis, the Philadelphia Eagles, two times in the last month of the season. The Eagles (5-7) recently saw their postseason dreams destroyed after three disappointing losses. All three of those recent losses were a margin of 8 points or fewer.
The Eagles host the Giants on Monday Night Football and hoping to end a three-game skid. The Giants are a +10 road dog in this nationally televised game regardless of who will be starting at quarterback, either Jones or Manning.
Manning has an aversion to the Eagles over the last five seasons. He’s 1-9 in his last ten games against the Eagles.
Manning, 38, would like to continue playing in the NFL next season, but he will not suit up for the Giants in 2020 as a starter. This is most likely his last game as a starter in a Giants uniform.