Hump day. Four more weeks and the Giants are playing out the string of a lost season that seems to have been righted a little too late. But it’s time to fight through the dregs to finish strong. Here we go.
Eli and the Chargers Fanbase Meet Again: If you really look at it, the infamous power play that the Manning family played in 2004 turned out to be a fairly lateral move for both sides. You might even say that the pure statistical body of work favors Philip Rivers; including this year in which he is enjoying an All-Pro-caliber year, while this year remains an enigmatic headscratcher for Manning. Longevity could favor the Bolts as well as Rivers was one of the last first-round quarterbacks to sit before he got to take the reins. (The guy Rivers took over for is doing pretty well for himself in New Orleans, don’t you think?)
The deciding factor is as always championships. Eli has two. Rivers and the Chargers never made it to the top of the mountain despite having a future Hall of Famer in LaDainian Tomlinson and high-impact players like Antonio Gates and Vincent Jackson. If being spurned at the draft alter wasn’t agony enough, seeing Manning win the Super Bowl twice is something that won’t be forgotten even after both quarterbacks have long retired. This could be the final time the two franchises converge with these QBs (four years between games is a long time in the NFL), so we’ll get to see if it’s okay to let it go. I doubt it will.
Tuck Wins the NFC Defensive Player of the Week: Four sacks of RG3 made it an easy call. We’ll see if it was enough to convince the Giants to keep him around. He’s quietly had an excellent bounce-back season considering his health was in question coming into the year. With Jason Pierre-Paul’s seasons being basically one exceptional play against the Aaron Rodgers-less Packers, Tuck has answered the bell from both a leadership standpoint and in playing for his one last payday.
Final Word: This is a toss-up game and the Giants haven’t beaten the Bolts in the Eli Manning era (the Football Gods olive branch to angered fans?). This is more than likely a playoff knockout game for either team and I think the Chargers will hand the Giants the final blow that finally puts the Giants down for the count. Rivers is just better than Manning this season and the Chargers still have a pretty good shot to grab the sixth seed in the AFC. It’ll be high-scoring and entertaining, but it will also bring finality to the inevitability of the season effectively ending for the Giants. 31-27, Chargers.
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