Giants RB says Eli Manning gave ‘fiery speech’ that motivated team

The New York Giants are playing for nothing but pride at this point in the 2017 season, and they showed on Sunday that they have enough of it to beat a quality opponent. Eli Manning may not have played his best game, but his leadership abilities were apparently on full display before kickoff.

On Monday, Giants running back Orleans Darkwa told reporters that Manning helped motivate the previously 1-8 Giants with a passionate pregame speech.

“Pregame, he gave a fiery speech that got everybody riled up,” Darkwa said, via SNY’s Ralph Vacchiano. “To have a guy like that who’s been through so much, that’s got those two Super Bowl rings, we follow him. We follow his footsteps in everything. So to have him come up there, it shows the weight that he carries on the team.”

Manning completed only 19-of-35 passes for 205 yards and no touchdowns, but he orchestrated a 77-yard drive in overtime that led to the game-winning field goal. The Giants were able to grind out a 12-9 win over the Kansas City Chiefs, who are almost certainly heading to the playoffs.

Darkwa said it is not unusual for Manning to be a vocal leader, but the tone on Sunday was different.

“He talks to us a lot,” he said. “But the difference yesterday is you could sense the fire in his voice.

“At the end of the day, Eli is going to be Eli. He shouldn’t change the way he commands the room. He shouldn’t change the way he talks to us. That’s just how he is. That’s how he leads us. And if the Super Bowl rings don’t hold any weight, then I don’t know what else should. You got to be able to follow a guy like that and listen to what he says.”

Some of the reports we have heard about Manning this season probably won’t make the 36-year-old feel great, but he deserves credit for not sulking during one of his most difficult seasons as a pro.