Having been to the playoffs the past four years, the New York Giants have rarely referred to a game as must-win unless it was in the postseason. Things have changed dramatically with three straight losses, and more than one Giant is putting Sunday's game with the San Diego Chargers into the better-not-lose category.
The Chargers and Giants tangle in the Meadowlands on Sunday, two teams desperately looking for a win.
Of course that story line takes a backseat to the one few can get enough of: Philip Rivers vs. Eli Manning.
Manning was a Charger for, oh, about 45 minutes, on draft day before being trade to the Giants. Rivers was among the booty headed the Chargers way, and Sunday marks the first time the two quarterbacks will square off against each other as starters.
Running back LaDainian Tomlinson said if he were just a fan, he would be watching those two big names from one of the NFL’s most celebrated drafts.
“Sometimes rivalries are just naturally built because of where you are drafted, and then there is the trade aspect of it,” Tomlinson said.
Several times a week, The Trenches will present team reports from Sporting News' 32 NFL correspondents.
Wide receiver Chris Chambers said earlier this week that he suspected his off-field problems had more to do with…
When Eli Manning and Philip Rivers play at Giants Stadium on Sunday, it’ll be the first matchup between the two quarterbacks who were swapped for each other during the first round of the 2004 draft.
The job of turning around the New York Giants belongs to Eli Manning, Antonio Pierce and the other leaders on the defending NFC East champions.
"Don't (expletive) talk to me! Knock it off!" – Ryan Leaf to San Diego Tribune's Jay…
The San Diego Chargers have signed rookie linebacker James Holt from the practice squad to fill the roster spot created when wide receiver Chris Chambers was released. Holt originally joined the Chargers in May as a free agent. He was released at the conclusion of training camp and added to the practice squad.
Walking through the locker room after the Giants went over corrections from another embarrassing loss, it was hard to tell that they were coming off a third straight setback and were no longer in first place in the NFC East.
Philip Rivers calls it one of "those little sidebars." Really, though, it'll be the featured event when Rivers and his San Diego Chargers face Eli Manning and the struggling New York Giants on Sunday at the Meadowlands. Manning was drafted by the Chargers in 2004, then traded to the Giants within an hour for Rivers and a handful of picks that San Diego ended up spending on kicker…