Forget the Colts, Bengals and Vikings. The Giants actually had the best result in Week 10, and they didn’t even take the field.
Following Sunday’s full tilt, the Giants (5-4) actually gained ground in the NFC East thanks to losses by the Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys. Sitting only a game out of first place, the Giants’ bye week couldn’t have helped them any better.
“We felt that all the way along,” quarterback Eli Manning said. “We knew we weren’t in an awful situation.”
The underachieving Giants are now sitting pretty thanks to standing still in Week 10.
Guys are getting healthier, struggling players got a chance to get away to clear their minds and the team got a week’s worth jump on its next opponent, fellow wild card contender Atlanta (5-4).
“We can play at a high level and win games,” Manning said. “There is still a lot of football left. Teams can turn things around. Teams can get hot at the end of the season.”
If the Giants want to make a run in the second half, they’ll need a healthy Manning under center. Although he claimed his right heel is no longer bothering him, the $100 million quarterback hit the wall mentally before the bye.
“Sometimes you don’t know you’re tired until you get away,” he said. “[But] it wasn’t hard to shake off the rust. It wasn’t a long practice [yesterday], but there was good energy.”
