EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — A few minutes after midnight, Giants Coach Tom Coughlin bounded into the interview room at MetLife Stadium, made his way to the podium, and addressed the assembled reporters.
“We won,” Coughlin said. “So smile.”
There certainly was reason to smile for a change. After losing the first two games of the season on late-game blunders, the Giants managed another one Thursday — a 101-yard kickoff return in the final minutes — before defeating N.F.C. East rival Washington, 32-21.
Coughlin answered questions about tactics, about key plays and players, but the overarching theme of his postgame message was that his players had found a way to win and that he had helped them do it.