Maybe you can't get as giddy as Odell Beckham Jr., but the Giants have cobbled together two wins in two weeks.
Maybe Big Blue is only 3-7, but it gives brief life to Beckham's sense that the club can win out and surge into the playoffs. Even WFAN's Boomer and Gio were having cheeky fun Monday morning with the idea that the Giants can still contend in 2018.
Watch every Giants game season this season with fuboTV -- click to start free trial now
The Giants' 38-35 win over Tampa Bay didn't dazzle us or remind the fans at MetLife Stadium of their four Super Bowl champions. Indeed, Ryan Fitzpatrick was so woeful they sat him for the beleaguered and benched Jameis Winston, the former top pick who has disappointed his club on and off the field.
Despite rookie sensation Saquon Barkley scoring three touchdowns and the defense scoring a TD while forcing four turnovers, the final spread was only three points. Despite muscling their way to a 24-7 bulge in the third quarter, the Giants' defense hemorrhaged 28 points in the second half, unable to stomp the life out of a bad team with little moxie and less motivation.
MORE: Giants Top Bucs 38-35, Win 2nd Straight Game
Cynics will remind us that the Giants beat two forlorn franchises -- the 49ers and Buccaneers -- with even fewer reasons to dream this season. At some point, the G-Men will tumble back to reality, lose a game and close the lid on the winter. The win was nice, but it gave you little reason for lofty thought bubbles of big games over the next month or so.
But for at least one more week, you can wax optimistic about Big Blue. On the week we give many thanks as a nation for many blessings, Giants fans can be thankful and can stop talking about the 2019 NFL draft before the 2018 season ends. We can have sardonic fun with Beckham's battle cry and agree with his ambitious assertion that it's only crazy until someone does it. For this week, anyway, Big Blue fans can feast on their epic Thanksgiving dinners with little indigestion.
And maybe we can stop wondering who will start under center for the Giants the rest of this season. Eli Manning didn't redefine the quarterback position Sunday and won't threaten Drew Brees or Patrick Mahomes for league MVP. But does anyone really think Kyle Lauletta can complete 17 of 18 passes in an NFL game? Manning just did, for 231 yards and two touchdowns, including one to the electric, eccentric Beckham.
During the postgame radio broadcast on WFAN, Carl Banks said he wouldn't be shocked if Manning were the starting QB next year. Perhaps. Few former players have a firmer finger on the game's pulse than Banks. But Manning has at least earned the right to play beyond the lurking shadow of a rookie quarterback who was arrested just as he was being considered for the job.
For all his faults, Manning is the adult in a room, locker room and huddle that needs one. Beckham can lather his hair with chemicals, make wayward statements and give odd interviews with Lil Wayne, but the man who throws him the ball has to be more mature. We may play with Eli's accent, Southern mien and sleepy cadence, but he won two Super Bowl MVPs for a reason.
It's silly to think the Giants will win out or play a single snap in January. But since "fan" is a truncation of "fanatic," it's not unreasonable for folks who wear jerseys and face paint and thumb through rows of fantasy football teams on their smartphones to get lost in some unrealistic dream sequence for a few days. The whole point of adoring pro football is to drop your real-world troubles every Sunday before you have to pick them up again Monday.
Enjoy the win, the week and keep hope alive until you can't. For those who call you crazy, tell them it's only crazy until it happens.
Follow Jason on Twitter at @JasonKeidel.
