NFL

Giants don’t rally to Eli’s aid

Eli Manning has had his teammates’ backs all year.

You know who had Manning’s back in yesterday’s stunning 23-10 loss at MetLife Stadium to a Redskins team that was inexplicably more motivated despite having nothing to play for?

No one.

In six games this season with everything else crumbling around him, Manning has been the maestro of miracle fourth-quarter comeback victories, carrying the Giants on his back into playoff contention.

So yesterday, in a game in which Manning didn’t have his fastball and was in need of a little help from his friends, his teammates whiffed.

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Make no mistake: Manning was awful, completing 23-of-40 for 257 yards, no touchdowns, a season-high three interceptions and a season-low 45.5 rating.

But someone needed to pick Manning up on a day when he wasn’t his best. His teammates, the ones whose butts he’s saved week after week, needed to do that and they didn’t.

In a way, Manning’s poor performance leading to yesterday’s ridiculous result was as much evidence of his value to the Giants as his brother Peyton’s has been to the 1-13 Colts while he’s been sidelined all year. If yesterday was any indication, it’s clear the Giants cannot win unless Manning carries them.

“Others have to rise up and play,’’ Tom Coughlin said. “Obviously, he’s played extremely well and we’ve depended on him — tremendously. When things weren’t [going] exactly as they have been, somehow some way, other people have to come to the front.’’

No one did.

* Hakeem Nicks could have had Manning’s back, but he dropped a sure touchdown on a perfectly thrown third-down pass at the Washington 15-yard line in the first quarter. “I was wide open,’’ Nicks said. “Eli threw a perfect pass. I should have had the ball.’’

* Safety Antrel Rolle could have had Manning’s back, but his missed tackle allowed Redskins receiver Donte Stallworth gain 16 yards on a third-and-17 play in the first quarter.

* Rookie cornerback Prince Amukamara could have had Manning’s back on the next play, the fourth-and-one, but he gave Redskins receiver Jabar Gaffney an acre of cushion and Rex Grossman connected with him for 7 yards and a first down.

Six plays later, Grossman connected with Santana Moss, who was supposed to be covered by Amukamara but wasn’t, for a 20-yard TD and a 10-0 Washington lead. “He was my responsibility,’’ Amukamara said.

* Amukamara had another chance to have Manning’s back, but on a third-and-14 play from the Giants 22, Gaffney spun him around like a top to gain 16 yards and a first down at the Giants 6-yard line. One play later, the Redskins took a 17-0 lead on a 6-yard scoring run by fullback Darrel Young and Amukamara was benched for the rest of the game.

* Tight end Jake Ballard could have had Manning’s back, but he had a big drop early in the game and a bad penalty, one of the eight for 75 yards the Giants committed in the game.

* Kicker Lawrence Tynes could have had Manning’s back, but he missed a 44-yard field goal in the third quarter that could have cut the Washington lead to 20-10.

* Coughlin could have had Manning’s back, but he wasted a timeout the team could have used at the end of the first half with a bad challenge of an interception by Redskins cornerback Oshiomogho Atogwe (Coughlin’s seventh consecutive lost challenge).

Justin Tuck said he “would have loved to have thought’’ those around Manning would carry their quarterback for a change.

“I’ve got a big knot in my stomach right now for how we just played,’’ Tuck said.

Manning, predictably bland after the game, didn’t buy into the fact that his teammates needed to play well around him as if they owed him something.

“We didn’t play as well as we needed to and Washington played better than us,’’ Manning said. “We’re sorry about that.’’

On this day, even as poorly as he played, Manning was the last man in the Giants locker room who should have been apologizing.