While the win total has increased slightly after a fiasco

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EAST RUTHERFORD , N.J. (AP) — of a 2017 season, Pat Shurmur sees good things on the horizon for the New York Giants.That’s provided the Giants (5-10) learn how to finish games.It’s been one of their major weaknesses this season and they head into the final week of a fruitless season coming off another late-game collapse in a 28-27 loss to the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday.It was the third time this season Shurmur has seen the Giants lose a road game when the opposition scored the deciding points in the final minute. Seven of their losses have been by seven points or less.“We’ve won some games, but we haven’t won enough, and so that’s the growth that has to take place, and for those of us that aren’t very patient, it’s a painful process until we get to that point where we’re winning all of these games at the end – not just a few of them, but all of them,” Shurmur said Monday, a day after the Giants squandered an early 14-0 lead.“We all know that it comes down to a drive or two at the end or the critical plays at the end of a game,” he added. “There’s things that we’re doing that are good enough, but right is right. We’ve got to do it throughout the game and we’ve got to win them.”Looking back, this has been a turnaround year. The roster has fewer than 15 players left over from last year’s 3-13 season. While Eli Manning has remained the quarterback, the offense has changed and has added dynamic rookie halfback Saquon Barkley to a group of playmakers that include wideouts Odell Beckham Jr. and Sterling Shepard and the suddenly revitalized and healthy Evan Engram at tight end.The defense has shown flashes. The takeaways have picked up , but the run defense and finding ways to close out games have faltered too much.“You’ve got to go out and take these wins, nobody gives you anything,” Shurmur said. “So when you get to the position like we were at the end of this game, it’s safe to say we’ve been in a handful of these this season where we’ve won a couple and then we’ve let a couple get away from us. But nothing’s given to you in this league, you’ve got to go take it.”Shurmur refused to say his team needed better players, insisting he liked the group he has now.However, a few more players will help.The Giants, who have made the playoffs once since 2011, are close to be a contender, Shurmur said.“I think as we start building and as the players get better, as we improve, as we understand situations and how to play each situation better, then eventually this thing pushes over the top ,” Shurmur said of his first season in charge. “So I would agree with their assessment.”NOTES: Shurmur said some of his injured players are close to returning for the Dallas game on Sunday. He did not mention Beckham, who has missed the last three games with a quadriceps injury. … The players had a short day Monday and will be off Tuesday for Christmas. The coaches will have Tuesday morning off but will be back in the afternoon to work on the Cowboys. … Manning will start Sunday at MetLife Stadium. … The game has little meaning since the Cowboys won the NFC East and will have a wild-card game at home. EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — No one seems to be asking questions about Eli Manning remaining the quarterback of the New York Giants these days.The two-time Super Bowl MVP has quieted his critics, throwing for five touchdowns and no interceptions in wins over the San Francisco 49ers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers the past two weeks.In beating the Niners, Manning engineered a late fourth-quarter drive capped by a touchdown pass to Sterling Shepard with less than a minute to play. He was nearly perfect Sunday, hitting 17 of 18 passes for 231 yards and three TDs in a 38-35 win over the Bucs. His 94.4 completion percentage was a team record in a game with at least 10 attempts, and it was tied for third highest in a game in NFL history with a minimum of 15 passing attempts. Alex Smith, when he played with the 49ers, and Ryan Tannehill of Miami share the top mark at 94.7 percent."You give Eli time to throw and that's what you are going to get," Shepard said Wednesday before the Giants (3-7) practiced for Sunday's game at Philadelphia (4-6). "The offensive line has been doing a great job blocking. He has been making the throws. The throws are on point."Manning tied his career high by completing his first 11 passes before failing to hook up with halfback Saquon Barkley on a wheel route.The Eagles have had their way against the Giants. They have won four straight, including a 34-13 win at MetLife Stadium on Oct. 11, a game in which the Giants were down 24-6 at halftime and 31-6 midway through the third quarter.Manning finished 24 of 43 for 281 yards. However, he was sacked four times and threw an interception on the second play from scrimmage , setting up the first of three touchdown passes by Carson Wentz."Last time we played them, I know exactly why they beat us," coach Pat Shurmur said. "We didn't do anything that you need to do against any type of team to win. We turned the ball over, we gave them big plays, we just didn't play well enough to beat any team, so we have to fix that. That's more about us."The 37-year-old Manning didn't give much of an answer when asked about the Eagles' recent success against New York."They've been good teams and obviously hey, every time you play, you got an opportunity," he said. "It's just about what matters is this game and this opportunity to go out there and get a win."The Giants are playing better heading into this meeting. The two-game winning streak is their longest since December 2016 and they have made changes, particularly on the offensive line. Spencer Pulley is now the center and Jamon Brown has been excellent at right guard since being added to the lineup two weeks ago.Tight end Evan Engram, who missed the Eagles game with a knee injury, is back and Barkley, the No. 2 overall pick in the draft , had his best game last week, rushing for 142 yards and scoring three touchdowns: two running and one on a pass."I think we're running the ball better than we did, so I feel like we're playing better football, but we got to continue doing that," Manning said. "They're a good team, they're a good defense, they got a good front four and they're a little banged-up in the secondary, but they'll have a good plan and we just got to go execute."NOTES: A win by Dallas (5-5) over the Redskins (6-4) would help the Giants on Thanksgiving. Manning isn't going to root."We'll watch the game, but you never know how it's all going to end up or play out, so just watch," he said.

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