New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning suffered a three-inch gash on his left temple and needed 12 stitches Monday night during a preseason game against the New York Jets.
The injury occurred on a third-down, play-action pass from the Jets 5-yard line with 10:45 left in the second quarter. Jacobs ran into Manning with his shoulder while expecting a handoff. The force of the collision knocked the ball out of the QB’s hands and into the air.
As Manning reached to catch it, Jets linebacker Calvin Pac slammed Manning in the middle of his back, knocking Manning’s helmet off and pushing him face first forward. The QB’s head slammed into a Jets player who was standing next to him.
Eli immediately fell to the turf and put his hand to his head. He motioned to the training staff for help as blood spewed from the wound.
Manning released the following statement: “I feel fine. I feel normal. The play was my fault. We had a run play with an option to throw a fade that I thought I might try, but Brandon Jacobs was coming right up the middle. Sometimes you make a mistake and you get hit in the head. It’s preseason, you learn from it. I feel like I could go back out and play right now if I had to.”
The next preseason game for the NY Giants is Saturday at New Meadowlands Stadium against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
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