The New York Giants are making life easier for Eli Manning since

EAST RUTHERFORD Connor Barwin Color Rush Jersey , N.J. (AP) — the bye week.After opening with a 1-7 record, Pat Shurmur's team has won four of five by doing all the little things that make a quarterback look good.The offensive line, which was much maligned before the bye, has been reshaped and is protecting the two-time Super Bowl MVP better while opening holes for sensational rookie halfback Saquon Barkley to show his skills. The defense has forced 12 turnovers in the five-game span, including 11 interceptions. And the pass rush, nonexistent much of the season, has 10 sacks in the last two games after getting 14 in the first 11.Put it all together and the Giants (5-8) still have a slim shot at making the playoffs heading into Sunday's game at MetLife Stadium against the Tennessee Titans (7-6).All the talk about this being the 37-year-old Manning's final season as the starter also has died down. It actually looks like he can be the starter for a few more years.Manning said Wednesday the biggest difference since the bye has been the Giants' ability to run the ball. Barkley has rushed for at least 100 yards in the past four games, capped by a career-best 170 yards on 14 carries in the 40-16 win over Washington on Sunday."Just an emphasis on running the ball, the play-action," Manning said. "A lot more under center. Not as much shotgun. Not as much seven-step drop. Just having everything built off the run game."The success of the run has allowed Manning to cut back on his passes. The fewest he threw in the first eight games was 29 in a win over Houston. In the other seven, he put the ball in the air between 36 and 47 times.In the current span, he has averaged 28.6 passes, with the highest total being 37 against Philadelphia, the only loss since the bye.Manning said making fewer throws doesn't reduce the pressure."You just want to go out there and do your job" Manning said. "We got to throw the ball. We got to throw it well. We got to run the ball. When you can do both, and depending on what the defense is doing, we can just adjust a little bit easier."The offensive line has been a big plus in the past month. It allowed 31 sacks in the first eight games. Since adding Jamon Brown at right guard and Spencer Pulley at center a few weeks before that, the unit has allowed 12 sacks."Just being able to fire off and get that run game going, it can help all the play-actions," Manning said. "We're not in as many third downs for any obvious passing downs as we were early on, where the defense kind of can have a little bit of an advantage."Left tackle Nate Solder said the line, which includes rookie Will Hernandez at left guard and second-year pro Chad Wheeler at right tackle, has developed chemistry. Wheeler is the only current starting lineman who was with the Giants last season."We kind of know what to expect from each other," Solder said. "We believe in each other. I guess that's settling in as much as you can, knowing what the coaches are asking of us, being able to do it multiple times consecutively, successfully. … I think all those kind of contribute to that settling in."The result this past weekend was Manning experienced something he has not felt in a while. He got to watch rookie Kyle Lauletta play in the fourth quarter with New York ahead 40-0 despite being without top receiver Odell Beckham Jr. (quadriceps)."I guess you're happy to be out there when you're winning and you got a lead, and let the rookie get in there and play some," Manning said. "Rooting for him to do well. It's fun to cheer on your guys, and when you have a big lead, it's a good feeling."NOTES: After Shurmur said Beckham would not practice Wednesday, he took part on a limited basis. He looked fine in the individual portion of the workout. … TE Rhett Ellison (ankle) did not practice. … Defensive captain and safety Landon Collins had surgery Tuesday to repair a partially torn labrum. He was injured against Chicago on Dec. 2. He was placed on injured reserve last week. By the time every NFL team has played eight games Saquon Barkley Color Rush Jersey , there are some heavily established favorites for The Associated Press NFL awards that are handed out on Super Bowl eve.Not this year.MVP? Lots of candidates 鈥?and not just quarterbacks.Coach of the Year? Nearly every division has a contender.Comeback Player? Some likely Hall of Famers are in the mix there.So the AP polled a few of the 50 voters for the awards, including genuine Hall of Famer James Lofton. The theme was clear: There isn't much clarity as we head into the final eight weeks of the schedule.MVPThis honor has gone to a quarterback the past five seasons and 10 of 11. Two running backs, Adrian Peterson in 2012 and LaDainian Tomlinson in 2006, broke through the QB domination in the past dozen years.Lofton and some others select Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes."So good you just can't take your eyes off of him," the CBS analyst says."Maybe this opinion changes next week, given the stellar competition that includes (Todd) Gurley and (Drew) Brees," adds USA Today's Jarrett Bell. "Maybe not, as the kid keeps showing up. A first-year starter as quarterback? Hey, Mahomes is like the new Kurt Warner."Paul Domowitch of the Philadelphia Daily News opts for Brees. Charean Williams of Pro Football Talk prefers Gurley.Don't forget about Tom Brady, Adam Thielen or Philip Rivers, and perhaps even a defensive force such as J.J. Watt.COACHAnother wide-open field headed by, according to Jenny Vrentas of Monday Morning Quarterback, Kansas City‘s Andy Reid."I selected Andy Reid … for his ability to seamlessly transition from Alex Smith to Mahomes," Vrentas explains. "He's been so invested in Mahomes' development that he sits with him on the bench in between offensive series, going over what they see and how they'll attack the opponent next. Reid has demonstrated an ability to keep his offense fresh and tailored to his players, updating his West Coast system with spread concepts pulled from the college ranks."Bob Glauber of Newsday points to last year's winner, Sean McVay of the Rams."He's one of the brightest minds in the game, and at 32, is proving not only to be a brilliant play caller, but an exceptional leader as well," Glauber says.Not far behind in our little poll: the Saints‘ Sean Payton, the Texans‘ Bill O'Brien, the Bears‘ Matt Nagy, and the Chargers‘ Anthony Lynn, whose team "plays a road game every week," Lofton notes. COMEBACK PLAYERRarely has there been such an impressive group vying for an award no one really wants to win considering the implications of a comeback.From Watt to Peterson to Aaron Rodgers, from Andrew Luck to Carson Wentz to Deshaun Watson, from Odell Beckham Jr. to Richard Sherman 鈥?WOW!"It's either Andrew Luck or Watt," says Williams, "but Watt has returned to being one of the best at his position. He is playing at an All-Pro and Pro Bowl level. Luck is not one of the top-five quarterbacks in the NFL and maybe not in the top 10."Eric Adelson of Yahoo Sports goes for the Colts quarterback."Can't imagine the frustration he's faced," Adelson says. "A pro's pro."Vrentas picks Watt."The surgery Watt had last October to put his leg back together after a tibial plateau fracture was so complicated that the surgeons couldn't even be certain that it would work Sterling Shepard Color Rush Jersey , and that his leg would be able to bear the full weight of his body while running full speed," she explains. "Watt, who has nine sacks in nine games, was undeterred. He wasn't back to full strength in the season opener but has steadily gotten better each week, a scary thought for opponents."OFFENSIVE PLAYERAnother free-for-all, with Gurley, Mahomes, Thielen, Brees, Michael Thomas and James Conner getting consideration."Before it's done, he could wind up as MVP," Bell says of Gurley, his choice in this category. "Ditto for Brees. Running backs don't get the same love as quarterbacks in the pass-centric environment of the NFL. But if Gurley breaks LaDainian Tomlinson's single-season TD record and the Rams keep winning big, people will have to take notice. Then again, Brees has a few records and has never been MVP."Domowitch, a Brees supporter for MVP, puts Mahomes here. So does Williams. DEFENSIVE PLAYERThis category could be a two-horse race between a pair of thoroughbreds previously honored with the award: Aaron Donald and Watt."Now that's a man who don't need no stinking training camp," Bell says of Donald.Eric Adelson of Yahoo Sports prefers Donald, as well."A game wrecker on every down," Adelson says.Adds Glauber: "Donald is a disruptive force in the middle and already has 10 sacks. The only problem for him 鈥?and the Rams 鈥?is that teams will often go to great lengths to shut him down. Thus, the constant double teams he has to fight through."Lofton likes what Khalil Mack has done in Chicago: "Mack turned the Bears from pretenders to contenders." But this train could be a runaway for Donald and Mack. OFFENSIVE ROOKIENo contest."He's the only good thing going for an awful Giants team," Glauber says of Giants RB Saquon Barkley. "Until the Giants figure out their quarterback situation, he'll be wasted in this offense."But not lost in the awards prognostications."On pace for more than 2,000 total yards 鈥?on a bad team," Adelson notes.DEFENSIVE ROOKIEChargers safety Derwin James has gotten lots of love, but there's no runaway leader."Darius Leonard and Denzel Ward make this an interesting race for the award down the stretch," Williams says.Glauber leans to Leonard: "Halfway through the season, he not only led all NFL rookies with 88 tackles, he led all NFL players in that category. He also has four sacks and three forced fumbles and has already won defensive rookie of the week honors twice."