It's official: Giants' Eli Manning will start Sunday vs. Cowboys

The worst-kept secret in the world went public Wednesday when Giants interim head coach Steve Spagnuolo announced Eli Manning will start at quarterback Sunday against the Dallas Cowboys.

Spags: Eli will be the QB on Sunday. He told Mara his "gut" told him this, confirmed it with offensive coaches. #Giants
-- James Kratch (@JamesKratch) December 6, 2017

Spags: Had good conversation with Geno. #Giants
-- James Kratch (@JamesKratch) December 6, 2017

Spags says Webb is getting more work. Geno remains the No. 2 for now. #Giants
-- James Kratch (@JamesKratch) December 6, 2017

Manning's return to being the Giants' starting quarterback was finalized by Spagnuolo and his staff, according to NFL Network, after the decision was all but revealed Monday following the dual firings of head coach Ben McAdoo and general manager Jerry Reese, ending the Geno Smith era after a lone game.

Co-owner John Mara said the decision would be Spagnuolo's, but he made it clear he did not think Manning's one-week benching was handled well (even though he signed off on it). Manning told WFAN's Mike Francesa he told Spagnuolo he wanted to start Sunday, and implied the conversation went well.

"He's got to be ready. It's not easy," Eli's dad, Archie Manning, said Tuesday. "So he'll go to work this week and hopefully they'll come out and play hard and hang in."

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The 2-10 Giants made a historic change Monday by firing McAdoo and Reese. Kevin Abrams has been named the interim general manager. Mara said he expects the Giants to try to win the next four games.

"I told them I would not put up with any talk in this building about tanking or anything else," Mara said, "and I expected us to go out and try to win these games. I expected their best efforts to try to get us to do that."

James Kratch may be reached at jkratch@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TJamesKratch. Find our Giants coverage on Facebook.

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