Rivers, Manning Meet For First Time in New York

NFL News - November 3rd, 2009 - Written by John

It was 2005 the last time Eli Manning and the San Diego Chargers met in the same building, the year after he asserted he wanted nothing to do with the franchise and felt he was destined for a bigger market. The Chargers obliged, trading him to the New York Giants for the fourth pick in the draft, Philip Rivers who has been with the team ever since.

Rivers didn't play in that game, but Manning ripped the Chargers to the tune of 352 yards and two TDs, only to lose to Drew Brees, 45-23.

For the first time since that day, both Manning and Rivers will be in the starting lineup with a chance to reclaim a spot among the top teams in the league.

The New York Giants are favored at home, according to BetUS, by five with an even -110 return across the board. The over/under is 47 1/2, which is actually tied for the highest in the week with an entire schedule filled with close match-ups. The Chargers are 7-2 ATS in their last nine games against the NFC East.

After starting 5-0 against mainly gimme putts, the New York Giants hit a brutal rush in the schedule against division leaders New Orleans, Arizona and Philadelphia that is inching them closer to .500 by the day. And it's not going to get any easier. The next five weeks will feature San Diego, Atlanta, Denver, Dallas and Philadelphia before they are clear favorites again in Week 15. By then, however, they may already be well out of the playoff picture.

Like the Giants, the Chargers have had difficulty breaking through against upper-level teams. At 4-3, San Diego has nearly allowed as many points as it's scored with wins over the Oakland Raiders, Kansas City Chiefs and Miami Dolphins. Not exactly murderer's row. Their three losses have been against good teams in Baltimore, Denver and Pittsburgh rendering them without a signature win to get the season going. They could certainly use on this week before hosting Philadelphia and traveling to Denver for a rematch.

Since the trade, Rivers has been a staple in the Pro Bowl, leading the league in pass yards in '08 and leading the team to it's third-consecutive playoff berth. He is currently one of 10 quarterbacks projected to hit the 4,000-yard mark with 2,036 so far, and he has made a star out of Vincent Jackson. The fifth-year wideout leads the team in yards, receptions and touchdowns and has four 100-yard games this year. He is third in the league with 664 yards.

The emergence of Malcolm Floyd has also caught the eye of coaches, enabling them to cut Chris Chambers this week and avoiding over $2 million left on his salary.

The problem has been the running game. LaDainian Tomlinson has not proven that he his an elite option out of the backfield with only 267 yards, although his two touchdowns last week were refreshing. His back-up, Darren Sproles isn't wowing either with a mere 3.5 yards per carry.

The Giants are basically in the same boat, teetering back and forth and looking for direction. Wideout Steve Smith is just below Jackson, standing third in the league in receving yards with 662 and Hakeem Nicks scored in four straight games until last week, but the defense is allowing the 10th-most points in the league and were blown out by the Eagles, 40-17 last week.

The Chargers, however, have allowed the 11th-most points.

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