New York Giants Official Website

DECEMBER 22, 2009

EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ - The Giants enter the final two weeks of the season with nothing guaranteed regarding their postseason prospects. At 8-6, they could win their final two games - at home against Carolina and at Minnesota - and miss the playoffs if both Dallas and Green Bay win their final two games.

But what the Giants do have is hope, which is not bad considering the up and down journey that has been their season. They took a decidedly positive step last night in trouncing the Washington Redskins, 45-12, in FedEx Field. A defeat would have just about extinguished their playoff chances. The victory, just their third in the last nine games, left them with a strong belief that if they take care of their business the next two weeks, everything will work out and they will play a postseason game the second week in January.

"That's the only way I think you can go into it," Eli Manning said after he played another outstanding game. "That's the mindset we have. We have to take care of our business and hopefully something is going to work out for us. But if we win our games and play well, that's all we can concern ourselves with and that's what we have to do."

"I think for us as a team, we're not concerned about that (everything falling into place for the Giants). We're not really concerned about that," defensive end Osi Umenyiora said. "We're just concerned about playing good football and playing the way we're supposed to play. No matter what happens, if we make the playoffs or we don't make the playoffs, as long as we continue to play this way, I'll be happy."

No one is able to focus on the task at hand quite like Tom Coughlin. Though his team cannot reach postseason play for a fifth consecutive season without help from someone else, he remains customarily and rigidly focused on his own team's task.

"We just take them one at a time," Coughlin said. "We try to do the best we can with our circumstance and then we'll have to see what happens. We just have to win. We have to win games. We have to win."

Playing the Panthers at home and the Vikings on the road is the same finishing kick the Giants had last season. They beat Carolina in overtime to secure home field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs, then pulled their starters in the second half of the season finale and lost in Minnesota, 20-19, enabling the Vikings to clinch the NFC North.

In the two games prior to hosting Carolina, the Giants had lost to Philadelphia and Dallas while scoring a total of 20 points. Now they prepare for the same opponents having won two of their last three games and having scored at least 31 points in each of their last three games.

Against the Redskins, Manning threw three touchdown passes without an interception for the second straight game while completing 19 of 26 passes for 268 yards. His 144.4 passer rating was the second- highest of his career.

"Offensively, we're in a pretty good rhythm right now and we're playing well," Manning said. "As well as we played last week (in a 45- 38 loss to the Eagles), we got off to such a poor start and spotted Philly 14 points. It was important to get off fast and set the tempo. We did that (last night) and we played outstanding all game. We made plays and had outstanding individual efforts from some guys.

"We have a tough stretch. Carolina is coming off a big win (26-7 over the Vikings) this past week. They're a tough team, we know that from playing them last year. We know we have to keep going. Offensively, we know we have to stay in this rhythm, score some points and help out our defense."

If they do all that to win their last two games and finish 10-6, the Giants would reach the postseason tournament if either Dallas or Green Bay loses once. They Giants can drop a game and still get in if the Cowboys and Packers lose both of their games.

But the best chance for the Giants is to win out, even if it guarantees nothing. The opportunity is in front of them.

"It has pretty much been that way for quite some time," Coughlin said. "I was glad to see that our players responded last night and naturally you are going to have to continue to do that. It's been in front of us and we have had an awful lot to say about what happens going forward. That is basically the way you would like to have it."

"I don't think we ever suffered from a lack of confidence," Umenyiora said. "Sometimes we're just inconsistent and we didn't play well. I'm not going to act like we just won the Super Bowl. We just won one game. And we need to win two more to in order to keep going where we need to go."

If nothing else, the victory in Washington provided a Giants blueprint for how to get there. They played well in all three phases of the game with the offense scoring on six of its first seven possessions, the defense harassing Redskins quarterback Jason Campbell with five sacks and three interceptions, and the special teams limiting Washington to a puny 14.9-yard average on eight kickoff returns.

"I thought for us last night we did have a very good performance from special teams, defense and offense," Coughlin said, "which was what we were striving for throughout the week, to get the quality of our play at the highest level in all three phases (and) to not beat ourselves in terms of the turnovers, in terms of the penalties. We were able to do that with three penalties, with no turnovers, with winning the turnover battle."

Coughlin lauded several players for their fine performances. On offense, the list included Manning, rookie Will Beatty (who played the entire game at right tackle for the injured Kareem McKenzie) and Kevin Boothe (who stepped in at left guard when Rich Seubert was hurt at the conclusion of the game's first series). Defensively, he cited cornerbacks Kevin Dockery and Bruce Johnson, who "both really did a nice job when called upon," Terrell Thomas, Mathias Kiwanuka, Umenyiora and tackles Barry Cofield and Fred Robbins.

"I was pleased with a win in the division against a team that had been playing very, very well," Coughlin said, "and we move forward."

To where, exactly, will be resolved in the next 12 days.

NOTES

*Coughlin said it was too early to offer evaluations of players injured last night, including Seubert (knee) and Hakeem Nicks (hamstring), plus McKenzie (knee) and defensive backs Corey Webster (knee) and Aaron Ross (hamstring), who did not play.

"I don't know any of that until we get going tomorrow," Coughlin said. "We do have a scheduled jog-through tomorrow afternoon (and) an introduction of first and second down with regard to Carolina. These things are going to take a while. We've got some guys who are sore and banged up, but who is going to be able to practice and who isn't. We are going to have to give it that extra day and since we do have the jog-through, there probably won't be an awful lot said until maybe we start into Thursday."

*The Giants will play their final regular season game in Giants Stadium on Sunday against Carolina. To commemorate the event, the Giants have created a special game program that is dedicated to the stadium and the team and players who called it home.

Approximately 60,000 programs have been printed and they will sell for $1 - the price of game programs when the stadium opened in 1976.

The program features stories and facts and figures about the stadium, as well as personal recollections from ownership, players and coaches. In addition, the program will include a commemorative poster that is bound into the book and features a photo from the very first game played in the stadium on Oct. 10, 1976.

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