If Eli's not at his best, Giants can't win

As I was saying back on Sept. 11 . . .

"By the looks of this flawed Giants team, merely good enough might not be good enough in 2011. [Eli] Manning has to be better.''

That was in a column after he was mediocre in a season-opening loss to the Redskins, when I suggested the youngest Manning brother would have to do what Peyton did for years and carry his team to success.

Like a blind squirrel who stumbles upon the occasional acorn, it turned out I was right. Fortunately for the Giants, Manning did his part by having an excellent season to keep them in contention.

Alas, Sunday the Redskins turned up again, this time having lost eight of their last nine, and Manning again was less than sharp, totaling three interceptions, no touchdown passes and a season-low (by far) passer rating of 45.5.

Help from teammates: zilch. Final score: Redskins 23, Giants 10.

Someone asked coach Tom Coughlin how the Giants can win when Manning is not up to his customary standards. He said this:

"It means other people. You need to make that play down the middle of the field. You need to do some things when the ball is right there. Others have to rise up and play.

"Obviously, he's played extremely well, and we've depended on him tremendously, and when things weren't exactly as smooth as they have been, somehow, some way, other people have to come to the front.''

The "play down the middle'' was a perfectly thrown pass to Hakeem Nicks midway through the first quarter that should have resulted in a 54-yard touchdown to put the Giants ahead 7-3.

Instead, Nicks lost the ball in the sun at the 15-yard line and had it go off his facemask. It was one of three key drops for the Giants' best receiver. Jake Ballard also had a damaging one on the failed opening drive.

Those sorts of mistakes, combined with the standard defensive breakdowns, doomed the Giants on a day when Manning wasn't quite Manning.

Speaking of which, what did Eli think of his outing? The only mistake he pointed to specifically was the floater he threw in Nicks' direction on the second play of the third quarter.

Manning called it a "poor pass,'' adding "I just underthrew it a little bit. I knew right when I let it go that it was going to be a little underthrown. I was hoping he could knock it away, but [DeAngelo] Hall made a good play on it.

"Besides that, we just never got much going, never got in a great rhythm in the first half, and the start of the game, we had a lot of incompletions, never a good down and distance."

Manning started 0-for-6, and at the time of Hall's interception, he was 7-for-18 for 77 yards and two interceptions.

The capper was his third interception, early in the fourth, when Manning threw a fade that cornerback Josh Wilson easily caught in the back corner of the end zone while receiver Mario Manningham cut inside.

Might all this pressure to be nearly perfect every week be weighing on Manning? The question had to be asked, even though there was no chance Easy E would admit that it is.

"No, we're a team and we find ways to win games,'' he said.

To be precise, they have found ways to win only half the games in 2011. Hence their precarious position in the NFC East. If they beat the Jets and Cowboys, they will win the division title. They also could be eliminated by 7:30 on Christmas Eve.

Such is life for a team that relies too heavily on one man, with too little margin for error. Nothing has changed over the past 15 weeks.

The Giants need two more victories. Manning has to be better.