It's been six days since Ben McAdoo announced that he was benching Eli Manning for Geno Smith, and hours since the Giants relieved McAdoo of his head-coaching duties. But when the team takes the field at MetLife Stadium on Sunday against the Cowboys, Manning is expected to again be under center, reports ESPN.com's Jordan Raanan.

Manning, who had started 210 consecutive games, was understandably upset when talking about his demotion last week.

"It's hard," he said. "Hard day to handle this. But I'll hang in there and figure it out."

Last Friday, McAdoo said he had "no regrets" about his decision, despite the reaction from angry fans and former players. 

"Listen, it's an emotional decision," he said, via ESPN.com. "I understand it. I get it. It's a part of it. Again, you have to separate the emotions and your feelings and make a decision which you feel is right for the organization moving forward."

Following Sunday's 24-17 loss to the Raiders in which Manning stood on the sidelines and served as Smith's backup, he told reporters that he didn't want to see McAdoo fired. 

Giants co-owner John Mara felt differently -- general manager Jerry Reese was also let go -- and defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo will serve as the interim coach, and presumably Manning will be under center. 

And while that's the right call, the reality is that Manning, like everyone else on the roster, hasn't been good this season. The team ranks 28th in overall efficiency, according to Football Outsiders' metrics  (the offense and defense both rank 22nd overall and special teams is 30th). And Manning, who is completing 62.5 percent of his passes and has 14 touchdowns, seven interceptions and four lost fumbles, ranks 23rd in value per play among all quarterbacks, sandwiched between Cam Newton and Andy Dalton.

Put another way: More than three months into a lost season, Manning remains the Giants' quarterback. But he'll be 37 next month and it's reasonable for the organization to try to find its next face of the franchise.