The New York Giants spent Monday licking their wounds, a day after a 27-0 defeat at the hands of the Philadelphia Eagles.
The two NFC East rivals had engaged in a series of trash-talk skirmishes last week leading up to the game, but the Eagles were the only team to back it up.
"I think this was a humbling experience for all of us," Giants defensive end Mathias Kiwanuka said on a conference call with reporters Monday afternoon. "[Coach Tom Coughlin's] always preached that talk is cheap, let your pads do the talking and all that. We've had a lot of meetings today, and it's been reiterated to us that it didn't get us a win. It wasn't anything that helped. We have to focus all of our energy and our efforts on only doing things that are gonna help us win."
Kiwanuka is not one to talk trash, nor is quarterback Eli Manning. But both talked Monday about the Giants needing to "grow up."
"We have to learn from this game, see where some of the mistakes are and what we have to do to get better and play at a higher level offensively," Manning said. "This week we have to grow up and find out who is going to be playing the spots that Victor [Cruz] has played so well for us and keep growing."
"I think this is a turning point in the season," Kiwanuka said. "It's something that we're going to have to grow up from real quick."
Coughlin said Monday that he thought his team had prepared well, but Kiwanuka indicated the players could have done more, when asked to expand on what it means to "grow up."
"When I say it, what I mean is, showing up every day early, wide awake, taking notes, going out to practice, and knowing that you're gonna make mistakes but working tirelessly to correct those mistakes during the course of the week," Kiwanuka said. "And continuing to watch film, to study your opponent, to get your rest, to do all the cold tub, contrast -- all the things you need to do to get your body ready, instead of doing something that may be more fun or more relaxing.
"It's a fun game, but it's also a hard business, and it takes a big toll on your mental and your physical capabilities. We have to be able to prioritize getting a win early in the week so we can show up prepared and confident and ready to play."
The Giants better be ready next Sunday when they travel to Dallas to face a Cowboys team that has won five games in a row and just knocked off the defending champion Seahawks in Seattle.
Playing without Cruz will make the challenge even tougher, but Kiwanuka said "there's no sense of desperation here."
"I have been here for a while and I've seen a lot of ups and downs, [but] losing an individual like Victor for the season this early, that's gonna be tough, there's no doubt about that," Kiwanuka said. "He's a tremendous competitor, a great leader, a big part of this team, and he will be missed.
"That being said, the reality of the situation is, almost every single week in a game somebody's [season] is ended or is shortened, so we're accustomed to dealing with it. ... So we'll go out, we'll put our best men on the field and we'll work toward getting that win."
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