When the Giants look back on their week 11 game against the Falcons they’ll be happy it was a win. In their minds they’ll see an asterisk next to it knowing it could have ended badly. The win snapped the Giants’ four-game losing streak and keeps them in the heat of the NFC East race.

As the redundantly used sports cliche suggests, a win is a win, no matter how ugly it may be. It wasn’t all ugly for the Giants though. Their quarterback starred in the game. Eli Manning threw for a career high 384 yards with three touchdowns. Their tight end did well too. Kevin Boss caught two touchdown passes from Manning and had 76 yards receiving. The ugly part was the Giants defense in the second half. Early in the fourth quarter the Giants had a 31-17 lead. With a 14 point lead in the fourth quarter it looked like the Giants were going to roll through the Falcons. Matt Ryan had different plans. Ryan threw two touchdown in the fourth quarter, the second of which came with 28 second left to tie the game at 31-31. Big Blue eventually won the game with a Lawrence Tynes field goal in overtime and the defense wiped their forehead with the back of their hands.

The Giants’ defense hasn’t lived up to the hype this season. Injuries have been a big reason for it but they just may not be as good as everyone thought. The play of Eli Manning was the difference in this one. Without an All-Pro performance from their $100 million quarterback, the Giants may have lost their fifth straight game and would have been the first team in NFL history to lose five straight games following five straight wins to open a season.

Michael Boley has had quite a start to his Giants career. First he missed the entire preseason with a hip injury then he was suspended the first regular season game for violating the league’s personal conduct policy. Now several sources are indicating that Boley will miss the next four weeks with a knee injury which he suffered Sunday against the Chiefs.

The Giants are a bit nicked up right now. Along with the injured Boley, quarterback Eli Manning has a sore heel, tight end Kevin Boss has a sprained ankle, defensive tackle Chris Canty has a bad calf, cornerback Aaron Ross has a hamstring injury, receiver Domenik Hixon has an injured knee and Ahmad Bradshaw has a sore ankle.

The Giants are 4-0 and host the Raiders on Sunday.

Justin Tuck and Osi Umenyiora lead the Giants to a 23-17 win over the Redskins. Tuck recorded 1.5 sacks and Osi forced a fumble, recovered it and took it to the house for six points. Eli Manning hit 20 of 29 passes for 256 yards with a touchdown and interception. The Giants went up 17-0 in the second quarter and never looked back. 

It was a game we’ve come to expect from the Giants. They had great play out of the irdefense, Eli did enough to propel the offense, but what wasn’t normal was that they didn’t excel in the running game. Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw combined for 106 yards on 28 carries. 

Manning hit Mario Manningham for a 30 yard touchdown down the right sideline in the second quarter that highlighted the Giants day on offense. Steve Smith caught six passes for 80 yards and Kevin Boss caught three for 62 yards. Eli spread the ball out, completing passes to seven different players.

The Giants go on the road for the next three weeks playing at Dallas, at Tampa Bay and at Kansas City. All are winnable games. With Osi back at full strength, the Giants defense is poised for a big season.

The Giants don’t seem to be content with the tight ends they have on their roster. They have been rumored to have worked out tight ends Alex Smith and Leonard Pope on Monday. Kevin Boss, Darcy Johnson, and Travis Beckum are the Giants current tight ends and one of them would have to go if the team decides to sign a new one.  

A blocking tight end is what the Giants really need and they will probably keep working out players until they find a guy who fits. Tom Coughlin is more of a traditional thinker when it comes to tight end. He is looking for a tight end that will help block in the running game. Boss, Johnson and Beckum aren’t known for their blocking but they have all been working to improve. The Giants actually traded their blocking tight end, Michael Matthews, to the Patriots for a conditional 2011 draft pick.  

Starting tight end Kevin Boss will be a big part of the Giants offensive plans in 2009. The Giants are expected to use third round draft pick Travis Beckum in a similar way as the Redskins use Chris Cooley. It will be interesting to what the Giants do about their current tight end situation.