Archie Manning Defends Ben McAdoo Despite Eli Manning Benching

Archie Manning spoke positively of New York Giants head coach Ben McAdoo on Thursday in the wake of Geno Smith's promotion to starter for Week 13 over Manning's son, Eli Manning.

According to TMZ Sports, the elder Manning praised McAdoo and blamed the Giants' 2-9 season on injuries, saying: "Ben's a good coach. It wasn't his coaching that got all these people hurt."

Eli's benching will end a streak of 210 consecutive starts, the second-longest for QBs in NFL history behind only Brett Favre.

When asked how Eli was handling the situation, Archie said: "Eli is doing OK. Tough first day when that happened, but he loves the Giants, he loves playing there ... everybody likes to play, but he's OK."

Following the announcement that Smith would start, Eli said he had some choice in the matter, per ESPN.com's Jordan Raanan:

"Coach McAdoo told me I could continue to start while Geno and Davis [Webb] are given an opportunity to play. My feeling is that if you are going to play the other guys, play them. Starting just to keep the streak going and knowing you won't finish the game and have a chance to win it is pointless to me, and it tarnishes the streak. Like I always have, I will be ready to play if and when I am needed. I will help Geno and Davis prepare to play as well as they possibly can."

Many have spoken out, including Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers, who called the Giants' handling of Manning "pathetic," according to ESPN.com's Eric D. Williams.

Eli's older brother, Peyton Manning, may have felt the same. Archie said, "You don't wanna hear what Peyton said about this."

This season, Eli has thrown for 2,411 yards, 14 touchdowns and seven interceptions, with his top two receivers in Odell Beckham Jr. and Brandon Marshall missing much of the campaign.

With Smith at the helm, the Giants will look to upend the Oakland Raiders on Sunday.