Giants head coach Pat Shurmur committed to Eli Manning starting Sunday against the Chicago Bears, but if conventional wisdom suggested a 3-8 team would play rookie Kyle Lauletta once mathematically eliminated, he might have to wait.

"Why are you jumping over [Alex] Tanney?" Shurmur said Monday, when asked if playing Lauletta to evaluate him at some point over the last five weeks is a priority. "I think what you try to do is win each game. You make a decision based on winning the game. And you make your decisions based on putting the best team on the field that gives you a chance to win the game."

The Giants enter Sunday's game against the Chicago Bears with virtually no realistic path to making the NFL Playoffs following Sunday's loss to the Eagles, which should shift the priority to evaluating the options at quarterback beyond Manning ahead of April's 2019 NFL Draft.

Even given the current state of the Giants' season, Manning isn't ready to cede his starting job to either of his current backups anytime soon.

"I expect to start until I'm told not to," Manning said. "That's the way I feel. I expect to start, expect to play, looking forward to playing, and go from there.

"I want to play, I want to play, hey, ya'll can speculate, ya'll can what if, it's not my decision."

Realistically, playing Tanney would take away valuable snaps for Lauletta to help general manager Dave Gettleman and the front office make a complete decision on whether drafting a quarterback such as Oregon's Justin Herbert, West Virginia's Will Grier, or Ohio State's Dwayne Haskins.

It is difficult to envision Tanney, at age 31 having played in just one career game in which he completed 10 of his 14 passing attempts for 99 yards and one touchdown, having a realistic possibility of becoming the Giants' franchise quarterback of the future.

Shurmur didn't just leave the possibility open that Tanney could play at some point this season, but revealed that he would actually consider having him start a game over Manning or Lauletta because he is the best option to get a victory.

"If we felt like he was giving us the best chance to win," Shurmur said, when asked by NJ Advance Media if he could envision a scenario where Tanney starts a game. "That's the coaches' view. Based on doing what quarterbacks do. All along, Alex has been our No. 2 quarterback, right? Aside from the fact that Kyle was drafted in the fourth-round, all along, Alex has been our No. 2 guy. He's done some things that we think can help us win a game."

Shurmur is running the risk of repeating the organizational mistake, which owner John Mara admitted to, of not giving an extended look to a rookie quarterback to see if he has the potential to be the quarterback of the future.

Last season, the Giants benched Manning in favor of Geno Smith, which ultimately led to head coach Ben McAdoo's firing before reversing course one week later and starting Manning the rest of the season while third-round rookie Davis Webb didn't take a snap all season.

Lauletta is an unknown commodity at this point, and the fact is the Giants invested a fourth-round draft pick in him this past spring and Tanney is a journeyman 31-year-old backup.

In spite of the fact that Lauletta is younger and that the organization has a four-year rookie contract tied to him as well as the chance to -- in all likelihood -- pick in the top-five picks in the NFL Draft for the second consecutive year where they could take a quarterback if Lauletta doesn't show enough to inspire confidence he can be a franchise quarterback, Shurmur seems to value Tanney's veteran presence.

"At some point, regardless of where you're picked, unless you're chosen with one of those first four picks ... Who cares where you're picked?" Shurmur said. "He's a Giant. Right? He went to college, right? If you're third in your class, you worry about the other two ... "

"We drafted a lot of other players as well, who are out there playing. We're just trying to put the best team on the field."

From the sounds of it, that team might be led out of the tunnel by Alex Tanney, and not Eli Manning or Kyle Lauletta, because the head coach believes he's the best option on the roster that week.

Matt Lombardo may be reached at MLombardo@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MattLombardoNFL