Throwback Thursday: Giants’ Eli Manning benched for Geno Smith
The upstart New York Giants (6-1) head out to the Pacific Northwest this Sunday to face the surprising NFC West-leading Seattle Seahawks (4-3) who are led by a familiar face at quarterback — Geno Smith.
Smith was a 2013 second-round selection the NFL draft out of West Virginia by the New York Jets and was their starter for two seasons before injuries caused them to lose confidence. He signed with the Giants as a free agent in 2017.
Smith holds a special place in Giants’ lore as the player who replaced Eli Manning at quarterback for one game that season.
The event had significance for several reasons. First, it ended Manning’s 210-game starting streak. Eli had started every game under center for the Giants for the past 13 seasons.
Second, Smith became the first African-American player to start a game at quarterback for the Giants. They were the last NFL franchise to do so.
Lastly, it ended the tenures of general manager Jerry Reese and head coach Ben McAdoo as both were fired after the game.
As for the game, which took place on December 3 in Oakland vs the 5-6 Raiders, the 2-9 Giants fell, 24-17. Smith was no improvement over the struggling Manning, completing 21 of 34 passes for 212 yards and a touchdown. He lost two fumbles and was sacked three times in the game.
Smith suffered from the same factors that dogged Eli that season: a lousy offensive line, no supporting ground game and few options in the passing game.
The next day, co-owners John Mara and Steve Tisch decided they had finally seen enough and pulled the trigger on Reese and McAdoo.
“I don’t think there was any one final straw,” Mara told reporters at the time. “I just think that where we are as a franchise right now, you know, we’re 2-10. We’ve kind of been spiraling out of control. I just felt like we needed a complete overhaul. I don’t think there was any one event or one final act to precipitate that.”
Manning would be reinstalled as the starter the next week under interim head coach Steve Spagnuolo.
Let it be noted that Smith handled the situation with class, as did Manning. The Giants? Well, not so much. They would go on to finish with a franchise-worst 3-13 record.
“I just hate to lose,” Smith said after the game. “I don’t want to lose at all at anything. I was upset that we lost, I felt like we had some opportunities and we couldn’t take advantage of them. We can’t really cry over spilled milk. You just got to pick yourself up and get ready for next week.”
Smith became a free agent after that season and then signed on with the Los Angeles Chargers for the 2018 season where would play in just one game. From there, he signed on to become Russell Wilson’s backup for the next three seasons.
Wilson, of course, was traded to the Denver Broncos this spring, paving the way for Smith to finally become a starter again.
Smith was named the starter over Drew Lock after a training camp competition and is currently the third-rated passer in the NFL this season behind Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen of Buffalo.
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