Manning, Giants roll past Falcons

ATLANTA -- The New York Giants are on another roll, but last season’s fade remains a reminder.

Eli Manning completed 27 of 39 passes for 303 yards and two touchdowns, leading the Giants to their fourth consecutive victory, 31-10 over the Atlanta Falcons on Monday night.

The Giants (4-2) took control after a wild first quarter in which the teams combined for 24 points.

“I felt good throwing the ball,” said Manning, who completed 12 passes in a row at one point in the first half. “I was getting opportunities in a timely fashion. I was spreading the ball around to all receivers.”

The Giants have bounced back after starting the season with losses to Dallas and Green Bay, but they are mindful of the collapse that knocked them out of the playoffs only a year ago.

A five-game winning streak had the Giants at 6-2 midway through the 2006 season, but they managed only two more victories the rest of the way.

Maybe that’s why Coach Tom Coughlin didn’t sound all that enthusiastic.

“I thought sometimes we did play well offensively, and then sometimes we did not,” he said. “There were some issues.”

Manning threw a pair of touchdown passes and set up another New York touchdown with three consecutive completions, which lessened the damage of two interceptions and losing a fumble when John Abraham knocked the ball out of his grasp just before the quarterback’s arm went forward. It also helped to be playing the Falcons (1-5), who are averaging only 13.2 points.

“They are a good defensive football team,” Coughlin said. “They have some problems, obviously, on the offensive side of the ball.”

The Giants became only the third team in NFL history with 600 regular-season victories. They are 600-502-33 in franchise history, following Chicago and Green Bay.