Eli Manning On WFAN: Good Teams Win Tight Games
NEW YORK (WFAN) -- The Giants are doing something they couldn't do last season: winning the close ones.
A week after beating the Cowboys by one point, Big Blue kicked a chip-shot field goal as time expired to beat the Saints 16-13 on Sunday.
It's an encouraging sign for the Giants, quarterback Eli Manning said Monday.
"Good teams got to win the tight games, and that's the difference -- just come together in that fourth quarter," Manning said during his weekly appearance on Mike Francesa's WFAN show. "It's the defense getting a stop, holding them (the Saints) just to a field goal there at the end, where they tied the game, and for us to get the ball, have a great two-minute drive, go down there and guys make plays and get the win.
"That was big just knowing that we can win these tight games."
Last season, six of the Giants' 10 losses came in games in which they led with 75 seconds remaining in regulation.
Despite amassing 417 yards of offense against New Orleans -- including 353 through the air -- the Giants failed to score an offensive touchdown.
"I thought we had a good game," Manning said. "I thought we moved the ball well, had a lot of completions, guys were getting open, guys made some big-time plays. But also we've got to finish some drives a little bit better.
The Giants lost three fumbles in the first half, were stopped on fourth down once in the red zone and had to settle for a 19-yard Josh Brown field goal to take a 13-10 lead in the fourth quarter.
"We've got to find ways to either run it in or throw it and make those plays," Manning said. "It's always going to be tight down there. The catch is always going to be contested down there. And we've got to find ways to get seven points."
To listen to the full interview, click on the audio player above.