NFL

Eli rallies Giants to victory after defensive collapse

It was late in the game yesterday, and the season-saving victory that had appeared in the bag for the Giants with a 31-17 lead early in the fourth quarter was now treacherously close to another season-ending collapse.

Resurgent Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan had fired two touchdown passes, the second with 28 seconds remaining to tight end Tony Gonzalez — and just like that, the score was tied and a football disaster was brewing.

“I don’t know what I would have done if we lost,” defensive end Osi Umenyiora said. “I probably would have buried myself somewhere.”

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If the Giants did not win the overtime coin toss, their fans might have taken out their frustration by burying the entire defense as they kissed goodbye to any realistic playoff hopes. As it turned out, the Giants won the toss, putting the ball back in the hands of Eli Manning, who was playing with the accuracy of a marksman.

“I am glad we got the ball first,” Manning said.

He made all the Giants glad, hitting emerging receiver Mario Manningham for 29 yards to set Lawrence Tynes up for a 36-yard, game-winning field goal 3:54 into overtime, allowing the Giants to end an excruciating four-game losing streak with a gasping 34-31 victory over the Falcons at Giants Stadium.

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“It seems like we haven’t won in forever,” Umenyiora said.

“It has been a long time,” echoed Manning. “Someone said it had been 42 days since our last win. It felt like it, too.”

There’s no rest for the weary, as the Giants have a quick turnaround for their Thanksgiving Day game in Denver, a game that suddenly doesn’t look as impossible as it did a month ago. The Broncos, once 6-0, are riding a four-game losing streak after yesterday’s loss to the Chargers.

Coming off a last-second 21-20 loss to the Chargers and having two weeks to ruminate about their failures, the Giants (6-4) were pushed to the brink by the Falcons. They led 17-7 at halftime, but their defense, playing without injured middle linebacker Antonio Pierce, sagged to the finish, never making a second-half stop as the Falcons scored three touchdowns and a field goal.

It was up to Manning to save the day, and he did with one of the finest performances of his career. He threw for a career-high 384 yards and fired two touchdown passes to tight end Kevin Boss and one to fullback Madison Hedgecock. His young receivers took turns punishing the Atlanta secondary, with Manningham (6-for-126), rookie Hakeem Nicks (5-for-65) and Steve Smith (4-for-7) all making plays downfield.

“When Eli is playing with that kind of confidence the whole team really rides right along with that confidence,” coach Tom Coughlin said.

The Giants needed every throw out of Manning, as their rushing attack never got on track (88 yards) and Ryan turned into an unstoppable force in the second half. The Falcons (5-5), playing without star running back Michael Turner, drew within 31-24 when Ryan targeted Giants rookie cornerback Bruce Johnson and tossed a 4-yard scoring pass to Eric Weems with 6:01 remaining in regulation.

Ryan got the ball back with 3:42 left and easily marched 76 yards, finally connecting with Gonzalez, who leaped between linebacker Michael Boley and safety Michael Johnson for the touchdown.

“We need to find a way to get stops when it matters,” Umenyiora said.

The key stop came when the Falcons called “tails” and the coin came down heads.

“When I saw we won the toss I had no doubt in my mind Eli and this offense was going to take it down and put it through,” Boley said.

Domenik Hixon’s 34-yard kickoff return got the ball to the Giants 33-yard line. Manning, on third-and-2, hit Nicks for 7 yards, then floated a pinpoint pass to Manningham, who abused cornerback Brent Grimes in single coverage on the right sideline to the Atlanta 23.

Tynes, who in the second quarter had missed a 31-yard attempt, didn’t miss this one.

“This is the first time in a long time we came into this locker room and you see the smiles on people’s faces,” defensive end Justin Tuck said. “That’s a good thing. Hopefully this will be like a building block for us.”

paul.schwartz@nypost.com