Ben McAdoo: “We have to get better”

The New York Giants (5-3) finally turned the tide Sunday when they beat Philadelphia Eagles (4-4), 28-23, at MetLife Stadium. It’s the first time they’ve won following a bye week, and their first victory against the Eagles, since 2013. That certainly represents a step in the right direction, but head coach Ben McAdoo knows there’s more work ahead for Big Blue.

“It was good to come out and win after the bye in the division. Now we’ve got to focus and we have to get better,” he said. “We have to get better in each of the three phases.”

One phase in particular, the defense, had another big day. They gave up 443 yards, mostly through the air, but two more takeaways led to two Giants’ touchdowns early. They didn’t give up the lead the rest of the way.

“It was good to get the two turnovers and cash into it on the offensive side of the ball. The defense keeps coming up with the ball. That’s encouraging. The offense was finding a way to get into the end zone -- that was big for us,” McAdoo said. “We have to learn to have that killer instinct for us and get up by two scores and keep our foot on the gas and not let them back into the ballgame. We do know that it is a four quarter-plus ballgame. So that being the case, we have to play the game as it unfolds and we kept playing there right until the very end.”

Here are a few notable takeaways from McAdoo’s post-game presser.

On the run game and Paul Perkins:

“I thought at the end of the game we had some nice runs come out. [Paul] Perkins showed some balance there. It was a tough front to run against but we have to run the ball better. ... we talked about mixing some players in and making sure we use everyone on the 46.”

On Eli Manning’s performance:

“He had those unfortunate turnovers. I thought he did a nice job completing the ball today. Again, we’ll have to go back and take a look at the film.”

On reduced snaps for Victor Cruz:

“We just talked about using all the 46. Rotate as many players as we can in the ballgame and get them some quality reps.”

On Eli Apple’s struggles, and pulling him for a sequence:

“Rotating players in and putting the best players on the field for certain situations that give us the best chance to win. ... He had a missed tackle I saw. He struggled but he’ll bounce back. He’s a young player.”

On where this win ranks for him in terms of rivalry games:

“That question is a little too dramatic for me right now. We won in the division and we’ll take it.”