Art Stapleton

Staff Writer, @art_stapleton

The Giants had just filed into the auditorium for their team meeting last Wednesday when Ben McAdoo offered up an unusual request.

The rookie head coach asked each of his players to get up out of his seat and move to another — did not matter where — and the plea was expectedly met with a few puzzled looks.

Before going into a speech about how the Giants would attack both the Bears and any complacency that may arise from the challenge of facing an opponent with an inferior record, McAdoo wanted the players to realize just how simply their comfort can be disrupted without a willingness to adapt and adjust.

McAdoo’s message held dual meaning for those who were in his audience.

The Giants were in a good place in their quest for the playoffs, but this was no time to feel comfortable.

The other part harks back to one of McAdoo’s fundamental tenors on which he has attempted to build a team that believes in its resiliency no matter the situation.

“I think someone who is comfortable being uncomfortable in a pressure situation is important,” McAdoo said when he was introduced as head coach nearly 10 months ago. “And it’s hard to know sometimes until you get to a Sunday, in the fourth quarter, when guys are pushing on each other for 60 minutes. Sometimes that’s when the magic happens with these guys.”

In a remarkable change from what had become a woe-is-me culture last season, these Giants have gone from wondering how they would lose close games to believing they will somehow find a way to win them.

They have won seven games by a combined 27 points — all of their victories, including five straight, have come by seven points or less — and the ability to overcome deficits and sluggish play is uncanny.

It's not easy to spot opponents in the NFL, regardless of their record, a head start, but that's what these Giants (7-3) have done, and they have figured out how to rally.

Once again, the execution was not perfect in their latest triumph, Sunday’s 22-16 win over the Bears at MetLife Stadium, but there is something to be said about displaying a knack for repeatedly coming through when the chips are down.

That margin of victory is the lowest over a team’s first seven wins in NFL history, according to the NFL Network. The Giants have gone from expecting something bad to happen at the end of games to believing something good actually will.

Now comes perhaps the biggest challenge of all: not playing down to the competition that awaits this weekend in Cleveland, where the winless Browns can't seem to get out of their own way. There's no worse way to obliterate everything promising from this season than for the Giants to lose their next game.

“Seven wins doesn't get you very far,” McAdoo said during a conference call Monday. “We need to keep stacking success.”

The Giants are 7-2 in games decided by 8 points or less after going 3-12 in those circumstances during the 2014 and 2015 seasons. They have overcome double-digit deficits three times in their current winning streak, their longest in the regular season since 2010.

“These games last year, we were losing,” Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. said. “We’re coming out, finding ways to get the win, and that’s it.”

The Giants’ last five-game winning streak came during their run to Super Bowl XLVI, and this represents their best record through 10 games since the 2008 Giants were 9-1 and the favorites to repeat as Super Bowl champions.

“We haven't accomplished anything yet,” McAdoo said.

Brief: McAdoo said the status of left guard Justin Pugh (knee) could be updated Wednesday. He did some running and cutting late last week and could do some work on the practice field this week. McAdoo would not provide any timetable, but the expectation is that his return could come Dec. 4 against the Steelers with an outside chance at being ready for the Browns this week.