Teammates once imagined the possibilities with an All-Pro tailback and an emerging weapon working together. Now, after five consecutive wins, they’ve moved past that fantasy.

“I’m not going to comment on someone who’s not in this locker room right now,” quarterback Ben Roethlisberger said when asked about Bell after Thursday’s 52-21 win over the Carolina Panthers.

Said wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster last month: “[In Conner], you’ve got a young dude who’s just proving what he can do, to Steeler fans and the nation.”

Players were surprised when Bell didn’t show for Week 1, with his own offensive line ripping him for the absence. Guard Ramon Foster and center Maurkice Pouncey both labeled the move selfish. One veteran player told ESPN anonymously: “He f—ed us.”

Things have cooled since then, and many had said they’d welcome Bell back. That’s a moot point now.

Only Drew Brees and Ben Roethlisberger (40 each) have had more game-winning drives since 2004.

“It doesn’t get old,” Manning said. “It’s fun. It’s fun playing in those games, and having a two-minute drive to win it. Those are the situations you want to be in. You want to have a chance. Obviously, you’d love to have a two-score lead with a little time and run it out or whatnot, but you prepare and practice for those two-minute drives to go win football games.

“To come through is exciting. And the team needs that. The defense needs that, to know that we can do that; offense, we needed that for ourselves, saying, ‘Hey, we can win.’ If we get close in games, we can go win football games. And we just had to do it.”

This one came just in time.

Monday night might have been Manning’s last stand. He was struggling. So were the Giants (2-7). Had Manning played poorly, his starting job was likely in jeopardy. Coach Pat Shurmur would only guarantee publicly that Manning would start against the 49ers. Nothing more.

When asked about his future, Manning said: “I am happy to be playing football.”

This kind of performance, especially late in the game, was meaningful for Manning and the Giants. They have heard the buzz throughout a woeful first half of the season.

“It frustrates me when people go at him. I see that from the media, but you wouldn’t want a better guy with the ball in his hands,” Shepard said. “You saw what he did on that last drive. When we need him, he’s going to come through for us.”

“[Told him] the same thing I always tell him. ‘Take me home, 10,'” said wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., who caught a pair of touchdown passes in the contest.

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Odell Beckham Jr. hauls in a pair of touchdowns in the Giants’ win vs. the 49ers, with one coming immediately after he nearly made an insane catch.

The game-winner came when Manning hit Shepard just past the goal line near the pylon. Shepard made a leaping catch with 53 seconds remaining to put the Giants ahead.

It was a vintage Manning drive reminiscent of the prime of his career.

“After we went and scored, I came back on the sideline and was like, ‘Man, you been doing this since I was like 12,'” rookie running back Saquon Barkley said. “That’s Eli. When he’s in those moments, he’s a heck of a player.

“When you’re around him you know why. When you’re young and you’re watching TV you’re like, ‘Wow. He’s just making those plays.’ But his craft that he works on. Such a smart player. Such a hard worker — on and off the field. In these positions he just thrives.”

Manning went 6-of-9 for 69 yards and a touchdown on the final drive. It came in his most productive game of the season, and put to rest a long two weeks in which he faced constant questions about his future.