ATLANTA (AP) — Handed the perfect setup against

a depleted Will Hernandez Jerseys 2019 , struggling Atlanta defense, the New York Giants‘ offense again fell short.No one was more surprised than Odell Beckham Jr .“I did think this was going to be a big day for us,” Beckham said.Instead, the Giants were held to two field goals through three quarters of their 23-20 loss to the Falcons on Monday night. Two fourth-quarter touchdowns were not enough to win the game or convince anyone in the New York locker room that answers had been found for season-long scoring woes that led to the Giants’ fourth straight loss.The Giants (1-6) were frustrated by an Atlanta defense which has three starters on injured reserve and had allowed the second-most points and third-most yards per game in the NFL.After the game, Beckham sat facing his locker, holding his head in his hands before finally heading off to his shower.When he faced reporters later, he was calm but frustrated.“It’s the little things, the little pieces that you’ve got to put together, the little things that are the difference between losing and winning,” Beckham said. “We just haven’t found a way to put it all together.”The statistics would suggest Beckham did his part with eight receptions for 143 yards White Lorenzo Carter Jerseys , including a 1-yard touchdown catch with only 5 seconds remaining.The touchdown made the final score look more respectable, but it brought Beckham little comfort. He chastised himself for failing to catch a 2-point pass that could have cut the Falcons’ lead to 20-14 with about five minutes remaining.“That’s something I have to go home with at night,” he said. “That’s tough.”Despite having such weapons as Beckham, Sterling Shepard, who had five catches for 167 yards, rookie standout running back Saquon Barkley and two-time Super Bowl winning quarterback Eli Manning, the Giants have found no answer to their season-long inability to turn yards into points.“We know we have talent,” said tight end Evan Engram. “We’re doing things. We’re just not putting the big picture together. That’s what’s frustrating. … We’re just going to keep working, and it will eventually pop.”The Giants have scored no more than 20 points in five of their seven games.“I can’t give you the answer,” Barkley said. “We’re not executing. We’re not finishing drives. That’s the gist of our season. … We’ve got to find a way to execute and finish our game.”There were no turnovers to blame. Manning threw for 399 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions Lorenzo Carter Jerseys 2019 , but he was sacked four times for a loss of 27 yards. Entering the game, the 37-year-old Manning had been sacked 20 times, third-most in the NFL.Barkley was held to 43 yards, his second-lowest total of the season, on 14 carries. He added nine catches for 51 yards.“Honestly, personally I didn’t play a good game,” Barkley said. “… I wasn’t the player I usually am.”The difficulties in scoring might have influenced coach Pat Shurmur’s aggressive play-calling.With Atlanta leading 10-3 early in the third quarter, Shurmur left his offense on the field for a fourth-down play from the Atlanta 1. Manning’s pass for Scott Simonson was incomplete.Shurmur again left his offense on the field to go for a 2-point play after Barkley’s 2-yard scoring run cut Atlanta’s lead to 20-12 in the fourth quarter. Giants players supported the call, which ended with the incompletion to Beckham.“He has faith in us that we’re going to put it in the end zone,” Shepard said. “I love that the coaches have faith in us.”Added Beckham: “I like the call. I love being aggressive.”Shurmur said analytics show “You increase your chances by 50 percent if you go for it and make it there White B.J. Hill Jerseys , so that’s what you do.”Shurmur said going for 2 was “an aggressive approach. … I think from a head coaching perspective, I want to be aggressive for our guys.” The New York Giants couldn’t do enough things right to hang on Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts. At 5-10, they haven’t done enough things right to be in the playoff chase heading to the final week of the 2018 NFL season. While they won’t get where they want to go this season, the Giants continue to believe that the arrow is pointing up for them as they try to build a brighter future.“You’ve gotta go out and take these wins,” coach Pat Shurmur said on Monday. “Nobody gives you anything. It’s safe to say we’ve been in a handful of these this season where we’ve won a couple and we’ve let a couple get away from us.“Nothing’s given to you in this league, you gotta go take it. When you’re close at the end you’ve gotta find a way to make enough plays at the end and take the victory.”Shurmur was asked if the Giants, 3-13 a year ago, are still “growing up.”“I think we’ve learned a lot of things together. Lot of new players, certainly. We’re down to about 12 guys who were on the roster (in 2017) and there’s a lot of new going on everywhere,” Shurmur said. “I’ve got a staff of coaches that there’s only one guy on the staff that I ever worked with. We’re battling through it.“We’re doing some things that have put us in a position to win. We’ve won some games B.J. Hill Jerseys 2019 , but we haven’t won enough. That’s the growth that has to take place.”Shurmur referred to that growth as “a painful process, until we get to that point where we’re winning all of these games at the end, not just a few of ‘em.“There’s things we’re doing that are good enough, but right is right. We’ve gotta do ‘em throughout the game and we’ve gotta win ‘em.”Here are a few other takeaways from Shurmur’s Monday media availability.On the play Eli Manning ...“I think Eli’s been doing some really good things. I think we as a team, and it’s fair to say about the quarterback, too, we’re real close and we’ve gotta find a way to take these wins at the end. I think he’s contributed in a really good way.”Shurmur said Manning will start vs. the Dallas Cowboys and “we’ll have to see what the week brings” when it comes to the possibility of activating rookie quarterback Kyle Lauletta for the season finale.On the availability of injured players ...“Just like every game, anybody that’s injured is doing everything in their power to get back and play this week.”