Second Thoughts

Future looks bleak in N.Y. with Manning

New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning is sacked for a loss by Dallas Cowboys defensive back Kavon Frazier during Sunday’s game in Arlington, Texas. Manning was sacked six times in a 20-13 loss.
New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning is sacked for a loss by Dallas Cowboys defensive back Kavon Frazier during Sunday’s game in Arlington, Texas. Manning was sacked six times in a 20-13 loss.

Newsday columnist Neil Best believes the end is near for New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning.

The Giants are 0-2 after their 20-13 loss to NFC East rival Dallas on Sunday night.

"The only good thing about Eli Manning's bad Sunday night was that it followed Sam Darnold's bad Sunday afternoon," Best wrote.

"That [partly] spared us what already is a tiresome debate about whether the Giants should have drafted a quarterback in the first round in April.

"[For the record, it said here, says here and will continue to say here that they should have, unless they really, deeply, truly disliked all the ones on the menu.]

"Instead, the focus can and should remain on the present and future, not the irretrievable past, and Manning is front row center in a bleak picture.

"It appears increasingly likely that Manning is stuck in a fairway bunker on the 18th hole of his career, with little evidence he can shoot his way out of it.

"Will he have his moments? Surely. He seems to be healthy, certainly knows the game and likely will win a few this fall.

"That would be OK under most circumstances, but not this one: With a win-now team that hired a veteran general manager [Dave Gettleman] and veteran head coach [Pat Shurmur] and selected a running back with the second overall pick in the draft [Saquon Barkley].

"Does he deserve fans' enduring respect for his resume? Of course. Is he still the classiest of acts, even in the face of a crumbling empire? Always.

"Is he still the answer at quarterback? It would be a great story if he somehow proves to be between now and his 38th birthday on Jan. 3. But as of today: no."

Scorigami!

In 2014, Jon Bois of SBNation.com made up the word scorigami, which according to him is the art of achieving a final score in an NFL game that has never happened before.

On Sunday, the Minnesota Vikings and Green Bay Packers finished in a 29-29 tie. The 29-29 tie was the 1,041st unique score in NFL history, or, as Bois puts it, the 1,041st scorigami.

Through the first two week of the 2018 season, there have been two cases of scorigami: Sunday's Minnesota-Green Bay game and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' 48-40 victory at New Orleans on Sept. 9.

Football fans can keep up with the scorigami board at scorigami.herokuapp.com.

Capital reign

Scott Allen of the Washington Post didn't find a lot of positive things to say about the Washington Redskins' 21-9 loss to the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday.

Instead, he turned to the region's NHL team, the Washington Capitals, who won the Stanley Cup in June. Left wing Alexander Ovechkin was one of the stars at the Redskins' game.

"The Capitals star was an honorary captain and participated in the pregame coin toss, which the Redskins won, obviously, because they were in the presence of greatness," Allen wrote. "If only Ovechkin, who wore a custom No. 8 jersey (Kirk Cousins who?) and received the loudest cheers on Sunday, could've brought the Stanley Cup."

SPORTS QUIZ

When was the last time the Washington Redskins won the Super Bowl?

ANSWER

The Redskins defeated the Buffalo Bills in Super Bowl XXVI in January 1992, making them the champions of the 1991 season.

Sports on 09/18/2018

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