It was fitting that the opposing quarterback for Eli Manning’s farewell at MetLife Stadium in Sunday’s 36-20 victory over the Dolphins was Ryan Fitzpatrick and not some kid 15 years younger than the man of the hour.

In many ways, Fitzpatrick is the anti-Eli, having played for eight teams in a vagabond career now closing out his 15th NFL season. Fitzpatrick, 37, took a moment after the game to share a few private words with Manning, who has never played for any team other than the Giants.

“It was a nice moment that he had with the fans there at the end and then a classy gesture to kind of bring him out and get his ovation,” Fitzpatrick said. “I just think he’s meant a lot to this league, obviously he’s been a face of not just the Giants franchise, but of the league for a long time now and he’s been the model of consistency for 16 years too in terms of staying level-headed and with all the stuff that you have to deal with in this media market. He’s been a class act the whole way and has really handled himself well.”

Fitzpatrick came into the league in 2005, one year later than Manning, and is the only quarterback in NFL history to throw a touchdown pass for eight different teams. He came into the league through the back door – a seventh-round pick of the St. Louis Rams by way of Harvard – while Manning was the first pick in 2004.

Fitzpatrick’s best season came in 2015 for the Jets, when he threw for a career-high 31 touchdowns and 3,905 yards, starting all 16 games. Fitzpatrick will never get the sendoff Manning did, as he never stayed in one place long enough to put down roots.

“I think there’s a lot of things that I like to just sit back and take from different quarterbacks, and our playing styles are a little bit different and he’s had a lot more success than I have, so I’m not even trying to compare our careers,” Fitzpatrick said. “I’m just, the class act that he is and always watching from afar the way that he handles himself, that’s something that all of us NFL quarterbacks can learn from that example and you know he’s had a great career and I was happy to see that for him.”

Manning likely will retire, but Fitzpatrick looks as if he can keep on going — if he is willing to serve as a backup somewhere. He completed 23 of 41 passes for 279 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions against the Giants, and also ran four times for 33 yards. He did not look done.

More that came out of the first Giants victory since Sept. 29:

– The Giants mustered 400 total yards in a game only twice this season: The season-opening loss in Dallas (470 yards) and the victory over the Dolphins (412 yards). Both came with Manning at quarterback and Daniel Jones on the sideline.

– Saquon Barkley got two and Buck Allen got the last one. It’s been more than eight years since the Giants rushed for three touchdowns in a game. The last time it happened was Oct. 16, 2011, when Ahmad Bradshaw ran for all three – all on 1-yard runs – in a 27-24 victory over the Bills.

– Alex Tanney got to share in a cool moment, trotting onto the field to replace Manning with 1:50 remaining. It was also something else quite rare for Tanney: Playing time. He is 32 years old and kicked around the NFL since 2015 – really since 2012, when he was signed by the Chiefs as a rookie free agent – and this cameo against the Dolphins was only his second appearance in a regular-season game. The last time Tanney played in a game was Jan. 3, 2016 – the finale of the 2015 season – when he mopped up for injured starter Zach Mettenberger and completed 10 of 14 passes for 99 yards in the Titans’ loss in Indianapolis. This time, Tanney got to finish up for Manning and completed his only pass attempt – one yard to tight end Scott Simonson. That gives Tanney exactly 100 passing yards in his unusual career.

– Weekly Leonard Williams report: The big man registered on the stat sheet with a forced fumble of Fitzpatrick early in the third quarter. Safety Sean Chandler recovered the loose ball. It was the first forced fumble for Williams with the Giants and his first overall since Oct. 9, 2016, when he got one for the Jets against the Steelers. Williams finished with three tackles, two quarterback hits and the one forced fumble for a productive afternoon.

– Seeing Kevin Zeitler on the sideline was a jarring sight. The massive guard is an iron man. He had started 85 consecutive games, for the Bengals, Browns and Giants, before an ankle injury last week made it impossible for him to extend his streak. Zeitler had not missed a game since 2014. His replacement, Nick Gates, made his second NFL start – his first at right guard. He started against the Jets at right tackle. Gates took out the legs of cornerback Jomal Wiltz on Barkley’s 10-yard touchdown run around the left end.

– Scouting and familiarity helps. Patrick Graham, the Dolphins first-year defensive coordinator, last week told his players one of Eli Manning’s favorite throws is the slant pattern. Graham was the Giants defensive line coach in 2016 and 2017 and watched Manning in action every day. The information helped linebacker Vince Biegel in the second quarter. Manning looked for Sterling Shepard running a slant but never saw Biegel dropping into coverage. Result: Interception. “I felt the slant behind me and I was able to get one thrown right to me in the bread basket and was thankfully able to make the play and put our offense in good field position,” Biegel said. “It was my first career interception and it wasn’t up against that bad of a quarterback so I was very, very thankful.”