EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - Two wins do not make a playoff contender, unless youre in the NFC East. Despite opening the season with six straight losses, the New York Giants (2-6) remarkably are still in the playoff hunt heading into their bye week. The Giants won their second straight game Sunday with a 15-7 decision over the Eagles in Philadelphia. Things only got better after the game when Detroit staged a furious last-minute rally to knock off the division-leading Dallas Cowboys (4-4). The math is simple: New York is two games behind with eight to play. Its not the best position and the chances that the Giants will make the playoffs are not good unless they run the table. "We won our last couple of games, which is a great thing. Are we back?" safety Antrel Rolle asked Monday, and then answered, "Well be back once we reach that post-season. Thats when Ill say that were back. Right now were grinding. Were grinding, were fighting extremely hard and, you know, being 0-6, like I said several times before, can do a lot of things to you. Ive had to dig extremely deep, had to be so mentally tough to overcome it because Ive never been in that stage in my life either. "Right now, as a team, were grinding. Were grinding and were pushing ahead and more importantly were staying together." The Giants still have a chance because they have corrected some of the errors that led to their worst start since coming out of the gate with a franchise-worst nine straight losses in 1976. In the past two games, Eli Manning and the offence have not turned over the ball. The defence, which has improved since getting middle linebacker Jon Beason in a trade with Carolina, has not allowed a point. The only major mistakes have been by special teams that gave up a punt return for a touchdown against Minnesota — the third one this season — and handed the Eagles a recovery for a TD late in the fourth quarter with a bad snap on a punt. The only turnover in the past two games was a lost fumble on a punt return. If they can avoid the turnovers, get the offence a little more in gear and continue to play good defence, the Giants will be competitive. The problem is the Giants have not been a good team in the second half of the season in recent years, and the schedule is tough even with five home games, including three straight out of the bye — Oakland (3-4), Green Bay (5-2) and Dallas. They also have games with the Chargers (4-3), Lions (5-3), Seahawks (6-1 heading into Monday night) and two with Robert Griffin III and the Redskins (2-5). "We havent done nothing yet," said cornerback Terrell Thomas, who made his biggest stride returning from two ACL surgeries by playing every down against Philadelphia. "Were 2-6. It feels great to have two wins. There are smiles around here and everyone is confident. This team has a makeup to make a run. Weve been in this position before and we are better when our backs are against the wall." Coach Tom Coughlin plans to self-scout his team over the bye week and he expects running back Andre Brown, who broke a leg in the preseason, to be ready to return from injured reserve after the bye. "I think theres some excitement," said Coughlin, who did an outstanding job keeping his team together after the horrible start. "Were certainly not blind to the issues that we do have, but by the same token were excited about having an opportunity to improve on those areas and excited about the second half of the year." Defensive end Justin Tuck said the key for the second half will be to continue doing what they have done the past two weeks. "Its really that simple," Tuck said. "We cant allow ourselves to think about the past or future, all we can think about is whats next. Thats the day-to-day life of a football player. We have to make sure once we get back in the swing of things that the only thing were thinking about is Oakland. Not thinking about what Dallas did or Philly or Washington or whoever else. We can control what we can control and thats how we play." While its a long shot, the players still maintain the hope they can be the first team to play in a Super Bowl in their own stadium. The title game at Met Life Stadium, the home of the Giants and Jets, is Feb. 2. ___ AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org Dale Murphy Braves Jersey . - Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr has nothing but good problems right now. John Smoltz Braves Jersey . The unrestricted free agent agreed to terms with the club on Thursday on a one-year, two-way deal worth $700,000. http://www.baseballbravesproshop.com/adam-duvall-braves-jersey/ .5 million, four-year contract with the Texas Rangers that could be worth $32. Hank Aaron Braves Jersey . Hernandez (3-0) struck out 11 and shut down Oakland for the second time in a week, becoming the first Mariners pitcher to win three times in the first nine games of a season. With the usual "Kings Court" for Hernandez home starts expanded to a "Supreme Court" encompassing the entire stadium with yellow shirts and "K" cards, Hernandez gave up four hits in the 28th double-digit strikeout game of his career. Phil Niekro Jersey . Gustafsson controlled the first round after getting top position on a throw, and came out much more forcefully in the second, buckling Manuwa with a Muay Thai knee, and finishing him off with strikes on the ground.Clermont Auvergne made an immediate statement of intent in the Champions Cup as they thrashed Exeter 35-8 at Sandy Park. Exeter, who beat Clermont comfortably on home soil last season before being crushed in the return fixture, were blown away by first-half tries from flanker Julien Bardy, wing Noa Nakaitaci and centre Wesley Fofana during a devastating 15-minute spell.And Exeter had no answer as full-back Nick Abendanon claimed a bonus-point touchdown just three minutes into the second period, before Fofana added another try, while scrum-half Morgan Parra kicked four conversions and substitute Pato Fernandez one. Gareth Steenson kicked an early penalty for Exeter, and Sam Hill added a late try, yet even when they had spells of dominating possession, the home side could find no way through a superbly-organised Clermont defence until injury time.Their victory might not have matched Saracens defeat of Toulon in France on Saturday as the high point of this seasons opening European weekend, but Clermont are majestically off and running in pursuit of a trophy they have never won. Noa Nakaitaci crosses down the left touchline A minutes silence was observed before kick-off in memory of Munster head coach Anthony Foley, who died overnight in Paris, as players and supporters at Sandy Park paid tribute to the 42-year-old.Exeter, with a gusting wind behind them, took charge of early territory and Steenson kicked them into a seventh-minute lead after Clermont lock Sebastien Vahaamahina was guilty of a high tackle.Clermont, having opted to play against the wind in the first-half, restricted Exeter to that solitary Steenson strike following an opening quarter high on endeavour, and they almost pounced when Parra broke clear, but England wing David Strettle could not gather his pass.The visitors, though, did not have to wait much longer for an opening try, which had its origins in some strong work by Fofana before Nakaitaci delivered an exquisite insidde pass and Bardy finished off impressively.ddddddddddddParra made light of the testing conditions by effortlessly landing the touchline conversion attempt, and Clermont were off and running, with a second try following just four minutes later after Parras high kick was gathered and slickly moved, with Naikataci crossing wide out. Nick Abendanon scored soon after the break to halt any chance of a Chiefs comeback Another Parra conversion made it 14-3, and Exeters evening showed no immediate sign of improving as hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie, a member of Eddie Jones England elite player squad, was helped off injured before scrum-half Dave Lewis saw a try rightly disallowed for offside.Exeter needed to strike before the break, yet Clermont scored again as they cut the Chiefs defence to shreds when fly-half Camille Lopez glided effortlessly past Steenson and handed Fofana a simple finish from an inside pass.Parras conversion took Clermont 18 points clear, giving Exeter a second-half mountain to climb. Watch NOW TV Watch Sky Sports for just ￡6.99. No contract. But the Chiefs were powerless to keep Clermont at bay, and a fourth try arrived with indecent haste when Strettle and number eight Fritz Lee linked impressively, creating sufficient space for a trademark Abendanon finish.Exeter plugged away in pursuit of a consolation score, but Clermont were having none of it, even when they temporarily went down to 14 men after lock Flip van der Merwe was sin-binned for a technical offence, and Fofanas second try underlined a considerable gap in class before Hill touched down in the closing seconds.You can watch Liverpool v Man Utd, plus Englands tour of Bangladesh and the US Grand Prix on Sky Sports. Upgrade now and enjoy six months at half price! ' ' '