New York Giants Studs and Duds vs. Dallas Cowboys Week 1

Eli Manning: Dud

Sep 13, 2015; Arlington, TX, USA; New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning (10) throws in the pocket against the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

In what was an above average matchup, Eli Manning was unable to get anything going. He was erratic all night, never getting into a rhythm. He was firing passes inaccurately throughout the night, finding it difficult to get the ball into his playmakers hands to make things happen.

On the evening, Manning completed only 20-for-36 for a measly 193 yards. On the bright side, Manning avoided turning the ball over, but that is about the only thing that Manning did well against the Cowboys. He was constantly throwing passes over his receivers heads, as he seemed to find it difficult to get a grip on the ball all night.

His most egregious error may have been on the Giants final drive of the game though. For some reason, with the Giants up three and the Cowboys on the ropes, Manning told running back Rashad Jennings not to score on first and second down. Jennings listened, and the Giants were in third-and-goal from the two.

On that play, Manning rolled out and couldn’t find a receiver so he inexplicably fired it out of bounds. Instead of lying down and wasting more time off the clock, Manning stopped it and gave the Cowboys a chance to win the game. That is exactly what they did, as Romo drove them down the field for a game winning touchdown.

It was far from one of Manning’s best performances and his poor play was a big reason the Giants fell short of pulling off the big upset.

Next: Safety Forced Into Duty