Giants Assure Eli Manning Will Start Monday Night vs. 49ers

Giants head coach Pat Shurmur said he spoke with Eli Manning to assure him he will remain as New York's starter, but must play better.

Quarterback Eli Manning will start for the Giants when they face the 49ers on Monday Night Football next week, head coach Pat Shurmur told reporters Tuesday.

Shurmur said that he has spoken with Manning and addressed the 15-year signal-caller's performance this season. Shurmur told Manning that he needs to play better moving forward.

The Giants are 1-7, tied for the worst record in the NFL entering Week 10. Manning has started every game.

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Questions surrounding Manning's starting role and criticism over his abilities have been raised throughout the season.

After the Giants' 34-13 loss against the Eagles in Week 6—when Manning managed 283 yards on 43 attempts—Shurmur told reporters that "we're not talking about a quarterback change yet."

Prior to that, during an ESPN interview with rapper Lil Wayne, star receiver Odell Beckham Jr. pondered Manning's ability to still throw deep or why coaches didn't call more deep-passing play with more frequency. Last week, former NFL wideout Terrell Owens recently backed Beckham's assessment, stating that Manning's skills "are pretty much eroding."

Manning, 37, has completed 68.3% of his passes for 2,377 yards, eight touchdowns and six interceptions this season. He's thrown for an average of 297.1 yards per game. However, he currently has a QBR rating of 41.8, which would be a single-season career-low. He's been sacked more than any quarterback in the league through this point in the season (31) and owns a sack percentage mark of nine percent.