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For reasons that remain a mystery, Giants coach Ben McAdoo has benched Eli Manning and backup Geno Smith will start against the Raiders on Sunday.

Manning, who has started 210 consecutive games, was understandably upset when talking about his demotion though this development somehow came as a surprise to Giants owner John Mara.

Meanwhile, Philip Rivers, who was in Manning's 2004 draft class and has been the Chargers' starting quarterback since 2006, called the Giants' decision to bench Manning "pathetic." He wasn't alone in his criticism; veteran Lions wide reciever Golden Tate also took issue with how the organization treated the man who is responsible for two Super Bowl titles.

"I could see maybe if they had drafted a backup quarterback and he was the future, you thought," Tate said this week, via ESPN.com's Michael Rothstein. "But I don't know. To me, that's a big, big slap in the face and as far as I'm concerned. Eli, he ain't the only reason [for] where they are.

"I strongly disagree with it. I feel bad for him, man. Two-time MVP. He's won a lot of games, had a lot of comebacks. Maybe he's not having the best season of his life, but c'mon, man, just cut him at the end of the season or trade him or do whatever. But he's got to deal with the media just like the rest of us and the embarrassment, and that hurts, man. I'm sure he's played through a lot of injuries and sacrificed a lot for that organization and, you know, not having a championship type of season and [makes a hook sound] with five games left."

The Giants are a terrible team for any number of reasons. Manning hasn't been great but put Tom Brady behind New York's offensive line, coupled with the lack of backfield and downfield playmakers, and the results wouldn't be much different. Now, a season after going 11-5 and making the playoffs, the Giants are 2-9, already eliminated from the postseason, and McAdoo has decided that benching Manning for Smith is in the team's best interests.