Giants at 49ers: 3 things to watch

The 1-7 New York Giants meet the 2-7 San Francisco 49ers in the Week 10 Monday Night Football game. Most of the nation will be sleeping, or watching something more compelling, but here are some things to pay attention to if you are watching.

A tale of two quarterbacks

For the 49ers, the story is whether Nick Mullens can repeat his fairly tale NFL debut and show that maybe he can be a viable NFL quarterback, or whether he turns into a pumpkin and shows why he went undrafted.

For the Giants, the story is obviously different. Eli Manning has taken the Giants to the top of the football mountain twice, but these are different, sadder times. Manning has been made no public promises beyond Monday. It’s been a long time since Manning had to fight for a job. How long can he hang on?

Getting excited about an offensive lineman

It’s pretty telling that Giants fans should get excited about an offensive lineman the team just picked up on waivers, but that’s where the blocking-challenged Giants are. The Giants haven’t officially announced that former Los Angeles Rams lineman Jamon Brown will start Monday against the 49ers — but Brown is starting Monday against the 49ers.

The Giants were incredibly fortunate to find a 25-year-old starting caliber lineman available to them in the middle of the season, and they know it. If Brown, a free agent at the end of the season, plays well the Giants could have lucked into a solution to one of the many problems they have along the offensive line.

Speaking of solutions, coach Pat Shurmur said the team is sticking with 25-year-old Spencer Pulley at center. Wouldn’t that be a nice development if, over the last half of the season, the Giants can find two young players who can help solve their offensive line issues?

We could also see wide receiver Corey Coleman and cornerback Tony Lippett, both of whom the Giants hope can be part of their future.

NFL Draft impact

The Giants currently own the first overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft. The 49ers own pick No. 3. Where will things stand after Monday night?

Current order:

1. New York Giants (1-7 — .511)
2. Oakland Raiders (1-7 — .555)
3. San Francisco 49ers (2-7 — .504)
4. Buffalo Bills (2-7 — .533)
5. Arizona Cardinals (2-6 — .533)
6. Cleveland Browns (2-6-1 — .569)

For what it’s worth, the Raiders host the Los Angeles chargers this weekend, the Bills are at MetLife to face the New York Jets, the Chiefs host the Cardinals and the Browns host Atlanta.

Final thoughts

I could come up with a few more, but what’s the point? The Giants would like to win some games the second half of the season, and there are several games — including this one — that should be winnable. The only real thing of significance at this point, though, is how what we see over the final eight games will impact what the Giants look like in 2019.