Raiders drop Giants to 2-10 as Eli Manning’s streak ends
Oakland Raiders running back Marshawn Lynch (24) scores a touchdown in front of New York Giants cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie during the first half of an NFL football game in Oakland, Calif., Sunday, Dec. 3, 2017. Credit: AP / Marcio Jose Sanchez
OAKLAND, Calif. — Eli Manning and Ben McAdoo spent Sunday afternoon together on the Giants’ sideline. For the quarterback it was his first time there since 2004. For the coach, it may have been his last.
The rest of the team, rattled with franchise-shaking alterations and the threat of them, could not change the most important symptom of what has become a crumbling season. They lost to the Raiders at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, 24-17, to drop their record to 2-10.
The result only fueled speculation that McAdoo will be replaced as the head coach before his second year at the helm comes to an end. An ESPN report on Sunday morning suggested such a decision by Giants ownership could come within 24 hours of the game, and that was before the result of was known. The Giants had no comment on the report, but co-owner John Mara said Wednesday that he would not guarantee McAdoo’s employment for the rest of the season.
Geno Smith became the first player to start at quarterback for the Giants other than Manning in 4,748 days, snapping Manning’s streak of 210 regular-season starts. Smith could fare little better than Manning had with a thin offensive line and depleted depth at wide receiver. That the Giants’ 17 points was more than they scored in either of their previous two games seemed a slight consolation.
Smith completed 21 of 34 passes for 212 yards (89.3 rating) and ran for 13 yards on three scrambles. He led two long drives, including an 11-play, 74-yarder late in the first quarter to tie the score at 7. But Smith also had two key fumbles that ended scoring opportunities in the first half.
The first one came when Bruce Irvin swopped around Ereck Flowers and poked the ball away from Smith at the Oakland 29. NaVorro Bowman recovered it for the Raiders.
The second came with 35 seconds left in the second quarter, when the Giants had a chance to at least tie the score at 10 after Shane Smith tackled punter Marquette King at the Oakland 9. They moved to the 4 on a Raiders penalty, but with no timeouts remaining, the Giants had to pass. Smith’s first throw was incomplete. His second dropback resulted in a sack by Khalil Mack, who also knocked the ball from Smith’s hands and grabbed it in midair before the two fell to the ground. The Giants went into halftime trailing 10-7.
The Raiders (6-6) went ahead 17-7 on a 9-yard run by DeAndre Washington with 10:18 remaining in the fourth quarter. The Giants responded to close it to 17-14 with 5:16 remaining on Smith’s 10-yard touchdown pass to Evan Engram. The score was set up by a 47-yard catch and run by Sterling Shepard that brought the ball to the Oakland 22.
Derek Carr hit Cordarrelle Patterson for a gain of 59 yards on the Raiders’ first play after that score to reach the Giants’ 9. Three plays later, Carr found Johnny Holton on a 9-yard touchdown pass to make it 24-14 with 3:23 remaining.
Aldrick Rosas’ 52-yard field goal with 1:38 remaining closed the score to 24-17. The Raiders recovered the onside kick and the Giants never got the ball back.
Notes & quotes: CB Eli Apple did not play after suffering a hip injury that was reported Friday. Apple has missed three straight games . . . RT Chad Wheeler left the game with a concussion and was replaced with Bobby Hart . . . LB B.J. Goodson, playing in his first game since Oct. 22, left after aggravating the ankle injury that had been sidelining him.
Tom Rock began covering sports for Newsday in 1996 and became its NFL columnist in 2022. He previously was Newsday's Giants beat writer beginning in 2008.
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