My NFL Forums | NFL Forums & Blogs

KANSAS CITY - The road-warrior Giants will triumphantly return home next Sunday with control of the NFC East after sweeping a three-game road trip.

They just don't know if their franchise quarterback will be with them when they do.

The excitement of another easy win, this time 27-16 over the Kansas City Chiefs (0-4), was dampened by the sight of Manning limping toward the locker room after the game with an injured right foot. The Giants (4-0) are calling it a "bruised heel," but Manning said what he felt was more of a pull or a strain.

He also said he didn't think the injury was "awful" and he doesn't expect to miss a game after making 82 straight starts for the Giants, including the playoffs. But the entire organization will be holding its breath pending more medical tests sometime today.

"I don't know exactly what it is," Manning said. "I can walk around. I can move around. There is some discomfort. ... I don't think it's awful. I think I've been injured worse before. We'll just see how it feels throughout the week."

What's most concerning is that it was a non-contact injury. Manning, who completed 20 of 34 passes for 292 yards and three touchdowns, suffered the injury with about 131/2 minutes left when he dropped back to throw what would be a deep incompletion to Steve Smith. He appeared to hop a little as he planted his right foot. Then he stepped up to throw, and immediately dropped to the ground after he released the ball.

He did stay in for one more play and threw a short pass to Hakeem Nicks that the rookie turned into a spectacular, 54-yard touchdown. But with the Giants up 27-3 at that point and Manning obviously hurting, the coaches pulled him from the game and trainers began taping the bottom of his foot.

Tom Coughlin said Manning wasn't healthy enough to keep playing. Asked if he could've stayed in, Manning said, "I don't know. Maybe."

The injury spoiled a terrific day for him and Smith, who caught 11 passes for 134 yards and two touchdowns; the two were locked in right from the start. This game was really over the minute Chiefs running back Jamaal Charles fumbled the opening kickoff and Giants linebacker Bryan Kehl recovered. Five plays later, Manning hit Smith in the back of the end zone with a perfect play-action pass for a 7-0 lead.

With Manning and Smith on fire (they hooked up for a 25-yard touchdown early in the second quarter), and Brandon Jacobs (21 carries, 92 yards) and Ahmad Bradshaw (12-64) helping control the clock, the Giants were never really threatened. Kansas City quarterback Matt Cassel (15-for-32, 127 yards) was under pressure all day and was sacked five times by a defense that had been sackless since opening day. He couldn't generate any offense until leading two garbage-time touchdown drives in the final 91/2 minutes.

When it was over, the Giants were just the eighth team out of 107 to sweep a three-game road trip in the last 19 years, which was an obvious source of pride. But the confidence they carry from that would take a hit if Manning has to sit out their happy homecoming on Sunday against the Oakland Raiders.

"I always assume I'm going to play, that I'm going to be out there," said Manning, who played through a painful shoulder injury early in the 2007 season. "I've always been a pretty quick healer. I'll be doing everything I can possibly do this week to get healthy and get prepared to play."

LINK

__________________