Eli Manning Was, Briefly, Eli Manning Again

By halftime of Monday night’s game between the Giants and Philadelphia Eagles, it felt as if Eli Manning was a character in a folk tale, a shunted hero who, in a twist of fate, was granted a last moment to rescue those around him.

Manning, for 11 weeks the forlorn servant on the bench, improbably resurrected the star-crossed Giants against the heavily-favored Eagles. On a national television stage where the spotlight always seemed to find him, Manning was everything he had once been. Late in the second quarter, after he threw a sterling, 55-yard touchdown, the usually subdued Manning charged down the field flashing a smile that could not be obscured by a face mask or a chin strap. He briefly raised his right index finger, then shot both arms overhead to signal touchdown as teammates enveloped him in a jubilant embrace.

Television cameras caught the Manning family standing to celebrate in a suite. Eli’s wife, Abby, remained seated but offered a knowing smile. Improbably, the bedraggled Giants led, 17-3.

The clock had been turned back. It was well before midnight on Monday and Manning was having a Cinderella moment.

Then, roughly 90 minutes later, the Giants turned back into the pumpkins they have been all season.

Putrid defensive play — did any Giant consider covering Zach Ertz, the only capable Eagles receiver on the field? — gave Philadelphia a second life. Manning had exhausted his magic, and even looked like a fatigued quarterback who had not played in nearly three months, as he led the Giants’ offense to only two second-half first downs. He could not save the Giants after all.

The Eagles’ march through the second half was as inexorable as it was predictable to anyone who has watched the Giants’ defense this season. The Eagles tied the game, 17-17, midway through the fourth quarter, forcing an overtime period.

The Giants lost the coin flip. Manning, standing at midfield, waved his arm to signal which end zone the Giants wished to defend. The game, a 23-17 Eagles victory, was over without Manning taking another snap.

The postgame became another ceremony in Monday’s drama as scores of opponents sought Manning for a hug or a pat on the shoulder pads. Many leaned over to whisper in his ear, a poignant sign of affection in the valedictory of a fierce pro football game.

Manning nodded repeatedly. Leaving the field, he rubbed a hand through his hair in the hallway outside the Giants’ locker room and paused to look around with an expression that seemed to say: What just happened?

About 30 minutes later, Manning was greeted by his wife outside the locker room, an unusual sight, especially in Philadelphia since Abby Manning vowed years ago to avoid the Eagles’ renowned bellicose fans. She changed her mind on Monday.

“She thought, you know, she had to break her rule and come for this one,” Manning said.

Asked what prompted the turnaround, Eli answered: “Well, I hadn’t played in three months. And you don’t know if I’m going to play again. So I think it’s pretty obvious why it was important.”

With the Giants rookie quarterback Daniel Jones, the team’s starter since September, still hobbled by an ankle sprain, there is a good chance Manning will get another start at home inside MetLife Stadium on Sunday against the Miami Dolphins. The Giants also host the Eagles in their final game of the season on Dec. 29. One of those two games will probably be Manning’s farewell to Giants fans and his goodbye to football because retirement is Manning’s most likely course of action when this season ends.

Manning, a free agent after this season, was asked after the game when he would decide whether to retire or try to play for another team since the Giants almost certainly will not re-sign him. He paused, perhaps because he already knows his intentions. Manning appeared a little pained by the question, and his face rarely hides his emotions. But Manning is nothing if not circumspect when it comes to his words.

“Probably next year,” he replied.

Manning will be 39 years old on Jan. 3. In the weeks he sat behind Jones, he kept to himself but confided to others in his inner circle that the life of a backup is not his idea of a gentle way to ease into football retirement. He finds it unrewarding and tedious.

Moreover, for more than a decade, Manning has talked about wanting to be a lifetime Giant.

Or as his father, Archie, said in an interview when Eli was briefly benched in 2017: “You have to understand something: Eli loves being the Giants’ quarterback. That’s all he wants to be.”

For two quarters on Monday, Manning was what he wanted to be again. Not just the Giants’ quarterback but a flourishing one. Folk tales usually have happy endings. With two home games yet on the schedule, for Manning, maybe the final, inspiring chapter has not yet been written.