Eli Manning likely finished his preseason adventures Friday night having never thrown a pass to Odell Beckham Jr. and played just a handful of snaps with Saquon Barkley in the backfield.
That will change when the regular season begins. When the Giants take the field Sept. 9 against the Jaguars, he figures to have both of those game-changing players at his disposal. In fact, that’s one of the primary reasons why they haven’t been playing in these meaningless exhibitions, to keep them healthy enough for that contest that counts. Beckham is returning from ankle surgery (although he has looked anything but hindered by it in practices) and Barkley is recovering from a strained hamstring (he returned to action in practice earlier this week).