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Eli Manning: Winless Giants Can Still Win 'Wide-Open' NFC East

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- The Giants are in serious trouble, and quarterback Eli Manning knows it.

But even with his team sitting at 0-5, the quarterback still believes that Big Blue can win the wide-open NFC East.

"Yeah, because it's wide open and obviously we're two games back right now," the three-time Pro Bowler said on Tuesday. "Obviously we've got to play better football and do those things, but we still feel that we can get hot."

The G-Men are 1 1/2 games behind the 1-3 Redskins and two games behind the Eagles and Cowboys, who are tied for first place with 2-3 records.

New York has a short week, as it will take on the Bears at Soldier Field on Thursday night.

"I know what situation we're in and I'm not pleased with it," the quarterback admitted. "I'm not happy with our performances and so I know we've got to fix them. We've got to play better. That's what we expect of ourselves and that's what the fans expect."

There's plenty of blame to go around for the Giants' miserable start, but much of that blame goes to Manning. The two-time Super Bowl MVP has struggled mightily through the first five games, He's completed 53.7 percent of his passes and has thrown eight touchdowns to 12 interceptions.

"It's tough," the veteran said. "We lost games and I think it's a tough situation, but we're fighting through them. You're trying to get better, to make improvements. It is what it is and the only way to fix it is to get back to work and try to get better."

As for the rest of the division? The Eagles are taking on the lowly Buccaneers on Sunday afternoon and the Redskins and Cowboys are meeting at Cowboys Stadium on Sunday night.

Though it's generally seen as a disadvantage, Manning believes that the short week will benefit his football team.

"Yeah, I think just to get your mind off of it and just get focused back on a game," the 32-year-old said. "You don't have two days to dwell on over the last game and so you just get back to work."

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