Latest setback not for lack of effort from Eli

TAMPA, Fla. — This was where Eli Manning began his magical Super Bowl XLII run, before he beat Tony Romo on the road, before he beat Brett Favre in frozen Lambeau, before he beat Tom Brady and the perfect Patriots.

And this was where Manning (30-for-49, 288 yards, 2 TDs, 1 rushing TD) carried the Giants on his back and tried to save the 2017 season Sunday, and ended up watching on the sidelines, waiting helplessly for one more chance that never came.

Manning would have — should have — been the hero, but Big Blue allowed Jameis Winston to march down the field so Nick Folk could doom the Giants with a second consecutive walkoff field goal, this one a 34yarder, for a crushing 25-23 defeat.

“Just hoping you have another opportunity, or defense gets an interception, tipped ball, sack, fumble, something ... stop on fourth down. ... We gotta help ’em out, try to get ’em the lead earlier in games,” Manning said. “We’re playing from behind too much.”

Manning found Odell Beckham with a 42-yard bomb off a double move that set up his 2-yard TD toss to Rhett Ellison off a rollout that gave the Giants a 23-22 lead with 3:16 left.

“He’s a champion,” Brandon Marshall said. “He works his tail off every single day. He’s always fighting to put us in position to win.”

Beckham was flagged for illegal touching on the illfated two-point conversion on which D.J. Fluker also held. “That’s always kind of a danger when you’re working the back end line,” Manning said.

Manning’s 14-yard TD run — the longest TD run of his career — had cut the Gi- ants’ deficit to 13-10.

“Play-action, tried to hit Brandon back of the end zone, they played it well, kinda looked at Roger Lewis for a possible checkdown, and then just kinda working Brandon maybe on a scramble drill, but saw a window,” Manning said.

There were no turnovers and Manning was not sacked one time.