Art Stapleton

Staff Writer, @art_stapleton

EAST RUTHERFORD – As the Giants made their way back to the locker room from their field house Tuesday, Ben McAdoo was walking and chatting with the two-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback.

No, not that Manning — the other one.

Peyton Manning was a surprise visitor, dropping by younger brother Eli’s place of work for the first time since his retirement in the wake of the Broncos’ Super Bowl 50 victory nine months ago.

“I did notice Eli was kinda quiet today,” Giants rookie Sterling Shepard joked. “Must have been because big brother was around.”

Peyton flew into New Jersey in the afternoon and arrived at the Giants’ facility in time to sit in the team’s quarterbacks meeting. He offered some thoughts on what he saw from the Steelers defensively and how that would affect the Giants’ game plan, which they began installing Tuesday.

“He’s played Pittsburgh a lot over the years, played them last year in the playoffs,” Eli said. “He had a few tips or ideas that may fit into our system.”

The Giants held a walkthrough practice soon after and Peyton attended, watching from the sideline as they began preparing for Sunday’s showdown with Ben Roethlisberger and the Steelers at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh. Then the quarterback who most recently hoisted the Vince Lombardi Trophy delivered a message to the team with a simple theme: “Take nothing for granted,” Shepard said.

Peyton may not have been speaking directly to his brother, but he just as well could have been.

At 35, Eli has started 205 consecutive games, including playoffs, and that is the longest active streak in the NFL, the third-longest in NFL history. Only two quarterbacks have longer displays of durability: Hall of Famer Brett Favre and Peyton, sure to be a first ballot inductee in Canton in the summer of 2021.

With the Giants (8-3) on a six-game winning streak, their longest since 2008, Eli talked to reporters about finding a way to cherish the moment. The calendar is set to flip to December and the Giants are squarely in the postseason hunt – actually, they’re out in front of the NFC wild card chance – allowing Eli the chance to lend perspective to what the franchise has been through in recent seasons.

The Giants went to the playoffs for four straight years (2005-08) after Eli took over as starting quarterback in November 2004. He won his first Super Bowl in 2007 in stunning fashion, then did so again in 2011 when the Giants got on a late-season run that lasted all the way to Indianapolis where they found a way to beat Tom Brady, Bill Belichick and the Patriots for a second time on the big stage.

But Eli and the Giants have not been back to the playoffs since. They have endured three straight losing seasons and the departure of Tom Coughlin as head coach, the only one for whom Eli had played before McAdoo took over as successor in January.

“You can get spoiled early in your career when four years in a row you make the playoffs and you assume that’s kind of the norm,” Eli said. “You play long enough you realize it is special to be in contention to make the playoffs. … You appreciate the wins and appreciate how hard it is and you want to take advantage of it.”

He later added: “Never taken a season or a game or a day for granted because you know how quickly it can turn. I’ve played long enough where I’ve seen a number of teammates, friends who have retired or have had to retire not on their own terms. I understand the game can slip from you quickly, so always take advantage of it and don’t let a game go by.”

Briefs: LG Justin Pugh (knee) and G/C Brett Jones (calf) both said they expected to participate in practice today. Pugh’s setback last week was the result of getting tangled with a teammate and he would not rule out playing Sunday, although acknowledged the Dec. 11 game against Dallas is more likely. … The Giants placed RB Orleans Darkwa on injured reserve with a lower leg injury and promoted LB/S Eric Pinkins from the practice squad.