New York Giants Hoodie , the New York Giants have something to smile about starting off a week.It's amazing what a win can do for a team."Anytime you win, it kind of verifies that what you're doing is right," coach Pat Shurmur said Tuesday, less than 24 hours after the Giants (2-7) rallied late to snap a five-game losing streak with a 27-23 win over the San Francisco 49ers."The reason we all started playing and coaching football is because we love the competition, we love the physical nature of the game, and we love the process of getting ready to play the next opponent," Shurmur added."Then on game day, you put all your energy into winning, all your energy into putting a winning performance on the field, and so I sensed real joy in the locker room yesterday 鈥?a bunch of guys that put a lot into it, and we were able to overcome some adversity and win a football game."The goal now for the Giants is to try to put a couple of wins together. They haven't done that since December 2016. They have a 5-20 record in their past 25 games.The difference Monday night against the 49ers was the Giants made plays. Eli Manning threw three touchdowns and engineered a late drive capped by a short touchdown pass to Sterling Shepard.The offensive line, aided by the addition of newcomer Jamon Brown at right guard, allowed only one sack and the defense got two interceptions from linebacker B.J. Goodson.Special teams also contributed as Aldrick Rosas kicked two field goals and Corey Coleman had three kickoff returns for 92 yards.The performance by Manning was excellent. There have been many calling for the 37-year-old to be benched with the team losing again. The two-time Super Bowl MVP answered the critics."Any time a player puts a winning performance on the field, he should feel good about it at least for a day or so," Shurmur said. "The challenge is to then prepare to do it again in a week, so I don't know. That's a question for him, but he had a winning performance, he helped us win a game, and he should feel good about that. Now we just have to build on that going into Tampa."The Giants will play host to the Buccaneers in their bid for their first win of the season at home (0-4).While the Giants' chances of making the playoffs remain dim, Shurmur likes the team that has been assembled in his first season."This is a really good locker room 鈥?we're young, we're new Youth Customized New York Giants Jerseys , but these guys believe in each other and try to play the game for each other," he said. "I don't know if they were loose, I don't know if that's the right term, but I thought they were just out there playing hard and having fun playing football."NOTES: Shurmur said the Giants had the usual wear and tear in the game, but he expects no one to miss Sunday. ... Brown played very well considering he had been with the team only a week. ... Shurmur also said rookie linebacker Lorenzo Carter had his best game in both the pass rush and coverage. ... Saquon Barkley had 20 carries for 67 yards and caught four passes for 33 yards. It was the eighth time in nine games Barkley had at least 100 scrimmage yards. "If we're just going to talk about Saquon and his involvement in the game, whether we hand it to him or throw it to him, it really doesn't matter. You'd like to see your back touch the ball or run the ball close to 20 times," Shurmur said As Eli Manning drove the New York Giants down the field for the game-winning touchdown in the latest loss for San Francisco, two players expected to be foundation pieces for the 49ers defense were only spectators.Reuben Foster missed his 10th game in two seasons because of injuries and suspension and fellow 2017 first-round pick Solomon Thomas remained on the sideline because he's not good enough to be on the field at crunch time.While the season-ending knee injury to quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo back in September probably ended any realistic chances of the 49ers being contenders this season, the lackluster production from coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch's first draft class has been a major negative this season as the 49ers (2-8) head into the bye week with the second-worst record in the NFL.When the Niners return next week for the final six games, those second-year players such as Thomas, Foster and cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon need to show they can be foundation pieces the team expected when they were drafted in the first three rounds."I want them to sit there and really think of what their goals are for the rest of the half," Shanahan said of his message to the entire team. "Do they want to solidify themselves as a starter, a backup? Do they want to be a part of it here? Do they want to be one of the answers or a solution to what we're going through? And really when they think about all that and they understand it all and what they want, which I'm sure they all have high aspirations, I want their actions to come back and show that."The second-year players haven't shown that yet. Thomas, the No. 3 overall pick in the 2017 draft, has struggled even to get onto the field in pass-rushing situations. He lacks the speed to come off the edge and hasn't shown the ability to be one of the team's top inside rushers so he has been mostly relegated to being only a base defender.Thomas' only sack of the season came when Oakland's Derek Carr ran out of bounds instead of throwing the ball away two weeks ago. Thomas has just three other quarterback pressures the past seven games.The Niners traded back into the first round in 2017 to select Foster 31st overall. He showed great promise in 10 games as a rookie, but was suspended the first two games this year following off-field issues in the offseason. He hasn't been an impact player once he returned as he has been hampered in part by shoulder and hamstring injuries.Foster has no sacks, interceptions, fumble recoveries or forced fumbles in his career and has 10 missed tackles already this year www.giantsauthorizedshops.com , with his tackle efficiency ranking fourth worst among linebackers with at least 200 snaps."He's going to be fine," defensive coordinator Robert Saleh said. "I get it, in this day and age, with everything needs to happen now. But, I promise you, Reuben is going to be just fine when this is all said and done. Second-year player, to push the panic button is way, way premature in my mind."Saleh says he believes the second season can be toughest on a player as outside influences can make them forget what made them successful as rookies.Veteran cornerback Richard Sherman sees that mostly as a crutch that needs to be avoided."Everybody hears about the rookie wall and the sophomore slump," he said. "Those things can happen. It can be a slippery slope. You can go downhill in a hurry."The team's other third-round pick C.J. Beathard, was benched after struggling in place of Garoppolo. Fourth-round running Joe Williams was cut before the season after never suiting up for the team and two of the bright spots from last year, fifth-round receiver Trent Taylor and seventh-round safety Adrian Colbert, have regressed.About the only success so far from that class has been fifth-round tight end George Kittle, who has emerged as a star in his second year, ranking third among all tight ends with 50 catches for 775 yards this season."I believe that we can get more out of our guys," Shanahan said. "I believe that's up to myself, I believe that's up to coaches and I believe it's up to the players. I think there are guys that are doing some good things. But, even the guys who are doing the best, I still think there's even more."