The 9-7 New York Giants paved their way into the record books on Sunday night.

The Giants won their second Super Bowl in five seasons, knocking off the New England Patriots, 21-17. Identical to their 2008 win, quarterback Eli Manning took home MVP honors, and possibly a Hall of Fame bust in the process.

This was a franchise-defining win for the Giants. They aren’t a dynasty, but they are certainly one of the top teams since the turn of the century. Coach Tom Coughlin and many of the same players who led the Giants in 2008 were key components during this campaign. That speaks volumes to the competitiveness and cohesiveness of this franchise.

The Giants were 7-7 after losing to the Washington Redskins in Week 15. They weren’t even guaranteed a playoff spot. But a win against the New York Jets began a path of destruction against some of the league’s top teams, including road wins in the postseason in Green Bay and San Francisco.

But just as they’ve come back so many times this season, they came back from a mediocre record to take home the biggest win of them all.

New York played a near perfect game. When the Patriots attacked Victor Cruz on the outside, quarterback Eli Manning went to Hakeem Nicks and Mario Manningham. When Jason Pierre-Paul was double-teamed, Justin Tuck came through with two sacks, including one on third down during the Patriots’ final drive. That showed that this team wasn’t about one individual. Maybe at times. But when opposing teams did their job at stopping that single player, others stepped into the limelight.

New York’s game winning drive was the perfect example of this. Manning hit Manningham from the Giants’ 12 for a 38-yard gain on a stellar grab. Manningham, who was criticized a series earlier by failing to keep his feet in bounds on a deep pass, made a difficult over-the-shoulder grab along the sideline. This wasn’t in the same category as David Tyree’s in 2008, but perhaps one tier below. Manning then went to Manningham the next three plays, totaling 56 yards to put the ball on the New England 32.

It was then Ahmad Bradshaw and Hakeem Nicks the rest of the way, with Bradshaw entering the end zone with 57 seconds remaining. I honestly believe Bradshaw wanted to score. Who wouldn’t? It’s the Super Bowl. But before he did, he tried to wait as long as possible before falling past the goal line. Here’s the thing: If Bradshaw fails to get in on 2nd-and-6, there’s the chance that he fumbles again or Manning throws an interception. There’s also the chance that Lawrence Tynes, who already booted two field goals, doesn’t make the short kick. Any of those situations occur and the Patriots win.

As I was watching this unfold, however, I began to think that there are only three teams I don’t trust with the ball in their hand and the clock under a minute: New Orleans, Green Bay and, of course, New England.

Just as the Giants offense had been reliable much of the season, their defense was too. While the situation itself was stressful, knowing that defense was on the field helped add a sense of ease. Nine plays later, with Brady completing only two of seven passes and taking the Tuck sack, the Giants were Super Bowl champions.

There are no negatives to take away from Sunday’s win. The Giants, however, have nearly two dozen free agents, including Nicks, about to hit the market. Hopefully the optimism of creating a dynasty will convince many to stay. New York isn’t known for shelling out big bucks – look at how they handled the Steve Smith situation. They’d rather find younger, suitable replacements. This time around, the organization might want to consider opening their wallet to continue something special. It would be a disappointment if New York misses the playoffs as they did after their last Super Bowl win.

This can be up to debate as the offseason drags on. For now, New York is celebrating being the NFL champions. They showed this season that not always the best team that finishes on top. It’s the one that finishes the best.

It would be silly though if the New York Giants wore trench coats as they practiced.

I’ve had the opportunity to cover the Giants and the rest of the NFL on a fairly regular basis over the last seven years. I’d estimate I’ve reported from the press box at close to 30 games since my first on Oct. 30, 2005 — Giants vs. Redskins. It’s truly my favorite sport to witness and write about firsthand.

2008, however, was an experience unlike anything I’ve ever been a part of. I wasn’t in Green Bay when Lawrence Tynes’ kick sailed through the uprights, sending New York to their fourth Super Bowl. I, like most, couldn’t believe this Giants team was making the trip to Arizona. It’s not that they were a bad team — they started off 6-2 before going 4-4 after their bye — but, simply put, there was nothing special about them.

It’s all about making runs though, and that’s exactly what they did. First, the Giants knocked off the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 24-14, in the Wild Card game. They then traveled to Dallas to face a Cowboys team that had swept them during the regular season. New York emerged 21-17 winners; the prize: a trip to face the second-seeded Packers in Wisconsin.

Similar to two weeks ago in Green Bay — this year the snow showers came a few days earlier — the Giants defense slowed down the Packers offense. Nobody thought they’d make it out of Brett Favre country as survivors, but they did. Only it’s Aaron Rodgers’ land now. Didn’t matter. The result was the same.

We saw in the Baltimore/New England game how fragile an on-the-line kick is. Tynes didn’t care the ground was frozen and snow covered five years ago. He didn’t care it was soft and soaking wet on Sunday in San Francisco. Tynes went out and did what he’s done his whole life: kicked a football in the direction it needed to go. The difference with these field goals compared to any others is these sent the Giants to the Super Bowl.

This year the Giants weren’t too special either. They started off hot (4-2) before their bye, then finished a mediocre 5-5, similar records to their Super season. Being swept by the Washington Redskins and a home loss to the Seattle Seahawks were the low points. Beating the New England Patriots in Foxborough, the highlight.

It’s perhaps ironic that the last two times the Patriots and Giants have met up during the regular season, they also took part in the Super Bowl. NFC East teams don’t face off against AFC East teams every year. Rather, it’s every five, the span it’s taken both teams to get back to the game’s grandest stage.

The Giants couldn’t stop the Patriots from a 16-0 record in 2007-08. They were the last of Bill Belichick and Tom Brady’s victims. To make it worse, they capped off the perfect regular season on the Giants’ home turf. That stung many of the players.

The two weeks before the Super Bowl are split in two. The first, each team spends in their home city, practicing and prepping for the game. The second is spent in the location of the big game. The latter is much more lax, as much of the game plan has already been strategized, leaving little time for on-field practicing and more time for interviews and parties — some of the guys hate this, Brady included.

I didn’t make the trip to Arizona in 2008. I did cover several of the Giants practices during the week before they headed west though. The first one I brought along a camera crew from FoxNews.com to film my report, which you can watch right here. It was my first such package for the network, and I was thrilled this was the topic. Also, I had only covered NFL games, so this practice thing was new for me.

Before MetLife Stadium, the Giants offices were underneath Giants Stadium, and the practice field was in a large inflatable bubble in the parking lot. That morning, with crew in tow, I walked into the bubble to watch about 30 minutes of practice. Media is usually allowed to watch near the end when not much of the week’s game plan is revealed. Seeing Eli Manning toss casually in red zone schemes and Michael Strahan not hit someone hard on the line was fascinating. I had only witnessed these guys play at 100 percent before.

The thing I remember most is how relaxed every player appeared. No one came across as anxious or nervous. They all looked like they were having fun and had nothing to lose. I guess that’s the bonus of being the underdog, the team no one in a million years thought would upset perhaps the best team in the NFL over the past several decades.

Talking with the players in the locker room after practice reiterated my feelings. Every one of the guys I spoke with — Amani Toomer, Sam Madison, Justin Tuck and others — were thrilled to be in the position they were, but none acted like this was going to be any other game. Toomer had been to the Super Bowl before, with the Giants in 2000. He told me a lot of the guys asked his advice on what to expect. Toomer told them to focus on the game since there will be a lot of other distractions taking place during that week.

I went back the following day by myself and talked with several other players, including David Tyree, about the upcoming game. I might have talked to him longer had I known his place in history, but no one can predict the future. Even one day later, that same calming aura surrounding the team remained. I believe it was there all week.

We all know the end result of the 2008 Super Bowl. It is in the history books as one of, if not, the greatest games in history. Rightfully so, too. The Giants weren’t a bad team; in fact, they were damn good in the playoffs. But no one expected them to win. This time around, there’s more optimism. Perhaps it’s because they’ve done it before and not too long ago. Maybe it’s because the Patriots looked just okay last week, while the Giants looked remarkable.

Regardless, this is going to be one helluva game.

Here’s my take on how the Giants and Patriots stack up in Super Bowl 46:

Quarterbacks: There’s no denying that Tom Brady is one of the greatest passers in the game. The way he stands in the pocket is unlike anything I’ve ever seen. There is simply no one with more confidence back there than the three-time Super Bowl winner. Eli Manning, on the other hand, is completely the opposite. He always seems scattered with a head-hung-low-type demeanor. But looks can be deceiving and Manning is one damn good quarterback. Getting back to the Super Bowl cements him as one of the Top 5 quarterbacks in the game today, in my opinion. Look at what he did in crunch time this season. You know the Giants will always have a shot when within one score, the ball in Manning’s hands and the clock ticking down. Brady gets the edge only because he’s No. 1 in that aforementioned Top 5.

Edge: Patriots

Wide Receivers: The Giants feature two of the most dynamic wideouts in the game today: Hakeem Nicks and Victor Cruz. Nicks and Cruz are both deep threats, although Cruz might have the edge in that department. Cruz is also much better on third down. Nicks in the end zone, however, is unbeatable. Throw in Mario Manningham as the third wide receiver and any quarterback would feel comfortable. Outside of Wes Welker, the Patriots don’t have the depth at wide receiver that the Giants do. Brady relies more heavily on his tight ends, Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez. Both guys are just so big for their position, making it extremely hard to cover them.

Edge: Tie

Running Backs: New York is using the same running back tandem that they used in 2008 with Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw. While Jacobs is still a bruising runner, he hasn’t been as effective as in years past. Bradshaw, however, still picks up big gains and is especially helpful in the flat. The Patriots have BenJarvus Green-Ellis, who is famous for having never fumbled in his NFL career. He isn’t a big gainer, but is effective near the goal line. Former New York Jet Danny Woodhead is the Patriots’ Bradshaw. He’s not used too often, but will make a play here or there.

Edge: Giants

Defense: I don’t think it’s even a question which team’s defense is playing better right now: The Giants all the way. Justin Tuck and Osi Umenyiora, both of the 2008 squad, and Jason Pierre-Paul have been unbelievable on the pass rush throughout the postseason. The Patriots don’t have a good enough offensive line to protect Brady from being hit with those three guys coming at them. Aaron Ross and Corey Webster do a nice job protecting the outside, but the hard work will be on safeties Antrel Rolle and Kenny Phillips with helping out on Gronkowski and Hernandez. New England, meanwhile, has Kyle Arrington and Devin McCourty at the corner position. Arrington, who had a healthy seven picks this season, will likely draw Nicks. Up front, New York will have to watch out for defensive end Mark Anderson (10 sacks) and Vince Wilfork.

Edge: Giants

Special Teams: Patriots kicker Stephen Gostkowski is one of the more efficient players at his position. He’s been in a number of big games and always seems to come through. Tynes has an impressive resume himself, with the two aforementioned kicks in bold at the top of his resume. Even punters Steve Weatherford and Zoltan Mesko were both effective for their teams this season. Weatherford averaged 45.7 yards a kick to Mesko’s 46.7. The Giants kicker also had 25 balls downed inside the 20 compared to Mesko’s 24. The difference in this category comes down to the other special teamers. I love the way the Giants’ Devin Thomas is playing right now. The former Washington Redskins castoff is playing some smart football. It also seems that Chase Blackburn is involved in every special teams play. Will Blackmon, who only handled kicks for six regular season games this year, will receive all of them for the Giants. His numbers aren’t overly impressive, but neither are those of Matthew Slater — both had zero return touchdown in 2011. Julian Edelman, the punt returner for New England, does have one.

Edge: Giants

Prediction: Coming Saturday, Feb. 4, 2012.

This is a team headed to their second Super Bowl trip in five seasons.

Part of it could be just damn luck. Maybe this is the big game the Gods wanted to see. Regardless of who had a hand in Sunday’s 20-17 overtime victory against the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship game, the Giants are happy it worked out the way it did.

Now they’ll return to the game’s grandest stage in a rematch of Super Bowl XLII, which New York won 17-14. That one, too, they won with the clock ticking its final seconds.

A lot will be written ahead of that matchup, which NFL executives have to be ecstatic over. This is Part II, the sequel, the follow-up to one of the most exciting Super Bowls in league history. It’s a game, no matter what NFL team you root for, you’ll be happy to watch.

I’ll say this about the Giants win on Sunday: That was a damn good game. Both teams played well enough that they could have won. But the Giants were simply better in all facets of the game: offense, defense and special teams.

If I’m the Giants, I feel pretty good about my chances heading into Super Bowl Sunday. The Baltimore Ravens showed they can contain Tom Brady in the earlier game. The Giants already did that this season with a Week 9, 24-20 win in Gillette Stadium. Similar to the 2007-08 regular season, both teams met up, with the Giants being handed the Week 17 loss.

The Patriots have double the reasons to avenge their recent losses in less than two weeks. After all, Bill Belichick and Brady don’t forget. New York has shown they’re up for the task though. It’s time for their greatest performance yet.

Here are the seven Giants stars from Sunday:

Victor Cruz: Cruz was quiet last week, but even the best wideouts have mediocre weeks. He made up for that silence against the 49ers, grabbing a game-high 10 balls for 142 yards. That yardage was nearly half of Giants quarterback Eli Manning’s total (316) for the evening. Cruz could have had more, but was shutout for much of the fourth quarter.

Devin Thomas: Thomas was huge on special teams for the Giants, displaying both focus and smarts. First, he was the only one who initially thought the football grazed 49ers kick return Kyle Williams’ knee (the play would have likely unnoticed). Thomas plucked the ball off the ground and ran it into the end zone — to the quietest crowd reaction in playoff history. Thomas argued, urged coach Tom Coughlin to challenge, which he did, and the play was eventually overturned. This set up Mario Manningham’s 17-yard touchdown to give the Giants a temporary 17-14 lead. Then, with 9:32 remaining in overtime, Jacquian Williams stripped Kyle Williams of the ball on a punt return. Thomas recovered deep in 49ers territory, essentially securing the Giants’ win.

Bear Pascoe: The tight end did not reach the end zone once this season. That said, there’s never a better time to get that first touchdown grab than in the playoffs. Pascoe’s 6-yard score helped tie the game for New York in the second quarter. It would be the Giants’ only touchdown of the first half.

Lawrence Tynes: Tynes’ leg should go into the Giants Hall of Fame one day. Four years ago, he sent the Giants to the Super Bowl with it, and on Sunday he did the same. Tynes’ 31-yard boot in overtime secured New York’s fifth trip to the big game. In the rainy San Francisco weather, he was 2-for-2 on both field goals and extra points.

Steve Weatherford: Punters never seem to receive enough credit. We saw last year how much they can be criticized, but Weatherford has helped put thoughts of Matt Dodge in the past. Against the Niners, the former New York Jet booted 12 times for an average of 46.4 yards. Keep in mind, though, there were a few short-yardage punts, including the one giving the ball back to the Niners with 19 seconds to go in regulation. Weatherford then did a wonderful job cleaning up a wobbly snap on Tynes’ game-winning field goal in overtime. I bet he’s glad his days in New York… on New York’s other team are over.

Ahmad Bradshaw: The Giants haven’t been able to replicate the running game they put together against Atlanta in the Wild Card round. Bradshaw did a heck of a job against a very good 49ers defense though. He ran the ball 20 times for 74 yards and caught six passes for 54. He’s not a Ray Rice-type or Adrian Foster-type back, but he’s sure valuable.

Eli Manning: It wasn’t Manning who will be attributed with this comeback win, but he was an integral part of it. He threw a ton, 58 times to be exact. He completed 32 of those passes for 316 yards and two touchdowns. Manning now has a shot at surpassing his brother, Peyton, with two Super Bowl wins. Is he the better brother after all?

The New York Giants — the 9-7 New York Giants — went into Green Bay and looked more like the 15-1 team they took on. The offense clicked magnificently, and the defense slowed one of the game’s top quarterback. Throw in the fact that the Packers fumbled three times and dropped eight passes and New York’s opponent never had a chance.

It never appeared that the Giants would make it to the NFC Championship game this season. There just wasn’t anything that made you say “wow” about this team. Then, after the Week 15 loss to the Washington Redskins, things began to click. They won 29-14 over in-house rivals, the New York Jets. Then, they took the win-and-in game against the Dallas Cowboys, 31-14. With no time to rest, they perhaps saved one of their most well-balanced victories for the Wild Card game against the Atlanta Falcons. In that matchup, the Giants won 24-2.

Heading into Green Bay, where they won on their way to the Super Bowl in 2008, there was an overwhelming feeling that the 15-1 Packers were in trouble. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers hadn’t played in nearly three weeks and their defense had already been surrendering the most points in the league. They looked every bit as rusty as anticipated. The result: Giants 37, Packers 20.

The Giants played the Packers so close in Week 13, only to fall on a last-minute scoring drive, that there was an overwhelming sense of revenge in waiting. It just seemed like the Giants wanted this one more, before it began and as it played out.

Next week, the Giants travel to San Francisco to take on another team that handed them one of their seven losses this season, the 49ers. Hearing the team name, the 49ers, immediately makes you think that this will be an easy meeting, but not so. The Niners have numerous weapons on offense — arm, hands and feet — and a better defense than New York has faced the first two games of this playoff period. The downside is a win likely sends them up against the New England Patriots, their opponent in the 2008 Super Bowl, who right now are playing with a just-as-high-powered offense as that season.

Here are the five Giants stars of the game:

Hakeem Nicks: First off, let’s quit all the talk comparing Nicks’ Hail Mary catch to the one David Tyree made in the Super Bowl a few years back. It’s not even close. I don’t write this to take anything away from Nicks’ catch, which in itself was an amazing grab, but it’s just not of the same magnitude or meaning. Nicks had two touchdowns Sunday, becoming the first player in NFL history with four touchdowns in a single postseason. He finished with 165 yards off seven catches.

Eli Manning: The Giants quarterback has put together back-to-back stellar postseason games heading into next Sunday’s NFC championship game in San Francisco. Manning tossed three touchdowns and only one interceptions on 330 yards passing. As I wrote last week, the key has been his efficiency and ability to not turn the ball over.

Kenny Phillips: Phillips knocked the ball out of Green Bay running back Ryan Grant’s hand with just under seven minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. The ball was picked up by lineback Chase Blackburn and brought down to the Packers’ 4. Manning found Mario Manningham on the first play of the drive to put the Giants up by three scores and essentially out of reach for the Packers.

Osi Umenyiora: The Packers were driving in Giants territory to open the second half. On 1st-and-10 from the 30, Omenyiora pushed past defenders and slapped the ball out of Rodgers’ hand as he was about to launch downfield to a wide open Greg Jennings. Deon Grant, who also had an interception late in the fourth quarter, recovered. While the Giants didn’t score off the turnover, the key was that Umenyiora essentially prevented a Packers scoring drive.

Michael Boley: Boley had a game-high nine tackles and two sacks of Rodgers, who was hard to catch as he rushed for a game-high 66 yards on seven carries. Boley and the rest of the Giants defense deserves kudos for rattling the league’s likely MVP.

Here are the five stars of the game:

Hakeem Nicks: Nicks has been overshadowed by Victor Cruz’ success this season. Despite that, he remains one of the Top 10 wideouts in the league, and was on full display against the Falcon defensive backs. Nicks hauled in two touchdowns on six catches for 115 yards. The 72 yarder was also a career high.

Brandon Jacobs: I saw something different in Jacobs this afternoon. Do you ever tense your entire body when working out and simply give it all you’ve got? That’s what Jacobs looked like. He lowered his head and was ready to plow over defenders. The result was 92 yards on 14 carries.

Eli Manning: The key for Manning was not turning over the ball. He threw three touchdowns and no picks on 277 yards. Manning doesn’t get the credit he deserves in terms of being a top quarterback, but that’s because when he’s bad, he’s real bad. Most of the time, though, he’s very good. He’ll need to more than that next week at Lambeau Field.

Corey Webster: The Giants cornerback did a stellar job covering Atlanta’s top receiver, Roddy White, all day, holding him to just five catches for 52 yards. Webster also had two pass deflections and four solo tackles.

Antrel Rolle: The entire New York defense should actually be mentioned here after completely shutting out the Falcons, whose only points came on a safety. As mentioned with Webster, Rolle also played a factor in holding Atlanta to just 199 yards in the air. He and Chase Blackburn led the Giants with nine tackles.

The Giants won the NFC East and a playoff spot by beating the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday night. The performance featured an impressive mixture of strong pressure on a good quarterback (Tony Romo) and solid offense. This type of play on both sides of the ball in a single game hasn’t been the case much of the season, but it was on New Years Day. New year, new Giants perhaps?

Meanwhile, New York’s other football team, the Jets, are packing up their locker room on Monday, heading home to watch the playoffs on television or from some distant vacation destination. This season the Jets were better than their New York counterparts in one area: running their mouths. That’s exactly what coach Rex Ryan and others did all year long, while the Giants — safety Antrel Rolle may be the exception — simply put it all out on the field. Plain and simple, the Jets never backed up the talk, especially when Ryan said the Jets were New York’s best team.

After beating the Jets in Week 16, then taking home a conference championship, Ryan should sit behind his desk in Florham Park with his tail between his legs.

Six comeback victories. That’s where the Giants were most impressive in 2011-12. Rarely were they in control for most of a game. Eli Manning, however, was in control in the fourth quarter. His passers rating was among the best in the game during the last 15 minutes, and that type of poise and commanding presence is what any NFL team would love to have.

Four losses stand out the most: 1) The two losses to the Washington Redskins in Week 1 and Week 15. The Redskins will pick sixth in this year’s draft, and to have been swept by the NFC East’s worst team is tough to swallow. 2) Week 13’s 38-35 loss to the Green Bay Packers. The Giants put together another last-minute comeback, only to leave 58 seconds left on the clock for Aaron Rodgers to drive the Packers down the field to set up a game-winning field goal. 3) The 36-25 loss to the Seattle Seahawks in Week 5. The Seahawks were playing pitiful at this point of the season. During the game, the Seahawks lost their starting quarterback, Tarvaris Jackson, and the Giants still couldn’t win. It was at this point many fans thought the Giants were not a playoff team.

The wins that should be front and center thus far are the two against Dallas, which certainly shifted the landscape of the NFC East. Had the Giants lost even one of them, the Cowboys would have likely taken the crown and the Giants would be in the same situation as the Jets. The 24-20 victory over the New England Patriots in Week 9 was also huge. The Patriots showed signs of a dynamic offense heading into this one. The Giants defense stepped up though, and so did the offense.

Outside of the 49-24 thrashing the Giants suffered against the New Orleans Saints, they seemed to play better against better competition. The Packers, Cowboys and Patriots — all playoff caliber teams. New York was either in or won each of those games. That brings a sign of hope to next Sunday’s home playoff game against the Atlanta Falcons. At 10-6, Atlanta finished one game better than New York. They were a .500 team on the road, led by quarterback Matt Ryan and running back Michael Turner.

New York last played Atlanta in 2009, winning at home 34-31. Atlanta was without Turner in that one, but since they’ve also upgraded at wide receiver by drafting Julio Jones. Ryan has also become more seasoned, and that could equal a much tougher contest than last time. With temperatures expected to be in the 50s, it’s not going to be a typical winter in New Jersey-type contest.

As for the Jets, there is a lot of uncertainty heading into the offseason. We know that Ryan will in all likeliness be back. His offensive coaching staff, starting with Brian Schottenheimer, probably will not though. The Jets offense simply did not perform well this season, especially at quarterback. Mark Sanchez continues to get praise from the coaches that he can be great, but now a three-year veteran, he hasn’t shown remote signs of that.

Sure, before this season, Sanchez took the Jets to the AFC Championship game in back-to-back seasons. But as was suspected, it was truly the defense that was the primary reason behind those tremendous runs. This season the Jets’ defense was completely inconsistent and Sanchez played the same as in the past. This time the result was an 8-8 record and an early trip home.

One player likely to have played his last game in green and white is Santonio Holmes. The wideout is one of the best in the game, but his display at the end of Sunday’s game against the Miami Dolphins was pitiful. Holmes not only argued with teammates in the huddle at the end of the game, but then sat on the bench and didn’t even pay attention to the action. Later he would not discuss his future with the team. Teammates were very candid afterwards that Holmes quit before Week 17, likely cutting his short tenure with the team. It’s amazing to think that Plaxico Burress could be back, but Holmes not.

The Jets must also upgrade on defense. Linebacker Bart Scott, who was also with Ryan in Baltimore, likely has played his last game for the Jets. That will be a key position to upgrade. The Jets must also add depth to the safety spot if they want to keep Jim Leonhard on the roster. Leonhard has had season-ending injuries the last two years. He’s such a key player on the field, but his ability to stay healthy creates too much uncertainty.

This is the Giants’ town now and for the foreseeable future. Until the Jets can prove people wrong, they’ll continue to be green with envy of their in-house rivals.

The Giants fell to Washington, 23-10, at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. on Sunday. It was the Giants’ second loss of the season to Washington, who pulled off their first season sweep since 1999. Sunday’s loss puts the 7-7 Giants a full game behind the Dallas Cowboys in the division. A loss at Philadelphia next week and a Dallas win would eliminate them from the playoffs.

“I don’t really care about the Giants at all,” quarterback Rex Grossman said. “I care about our team and going out there and winning a division game, working your ass off all week and celebrating the fact that all that hard work you execute and win. That’s plenty of gratification.”

Washington’s (5-9) success on the field should not have surprised the Giants too much. They were coming off a 34-27 loss to the New England Patriots one week ago, and their offense was just as potent. The Redskins primary advantages came on third down (8-15) and ball control (35 minutes).

“We made some big plays on third downs,” Shanahan said. “I think that was the key to the first half.”

The Giants defense failed on a number of fronts during the Redskins’ first touchdown drive. A Jason Pierre-Paul sack set Washington back to 3^rd-and-17 on the their own 49. Grossman then found Donte Stallworth for 16 yards and Jabar Gaffney for seven on 4^th-and-1 to get a new set of downs. Six plays later, Grossman connected with Santana Moss from 20 yards out to put the Redskins up 10-0.

“One thing that Mike preaches to us is keeping our poise,” Stallworth said. “I think we did that today. We kept going and hung in there. The guys did a good job today.”

Washington added a second touchdown on their next drive, again thanks to a third-and-long conversion. With the ball on the Giants 22 and facing 3^rd-and-14, Grossman hit Gaffney for 16 yards. Fullback Darrel Young followed with a six-yard scamper into the end zone.

In the hole 17-0, the Giants were able to get on the scoreboard thanks to a 40-yard Lawrence Tynes field goal before heading into the locker rooms at the half. Tynes would miss from 44 with 5:28 left in the third. Meanwhile, Tynes’ counterpart, Graham Gano, was 3-for-3, including a 25-yarder to open the fourth quarter.

New York put together a 64-yard drive on their first possession of the fourth. Manning, however, was picked off by Redskins cornerback Josh Wilson in the left corner of the end zone on a pass intended for Mario Manningham. Manning (23-40, 257 yards) and Grossman (15-24, 185 yards, 1 touchdown) combined for five interceptions.

“I credit our offense for keeping us off the field, moving the ball and putting some points up,” linebacker Brian Orakpo said. “I credit our defense for having the opportunities and being able to stop them.”

The Redskins defense made their biggest stand with nine minutes remaining. With the ball on the Washington 4, Manning passed short to D.J. Ware at the goal line. Initially, the catch was ruled a touchdown, but it was reversed when replay showed Ware didn’t have possession until he was pushed out of the end zone. The next play, Manning got the ball to Nicks for a touchdown that was nullified because of an offensive holding penalty on David Diehl. Redskins linebacker Ryan Kerrigan sacked Manning on 4^th-and-12 to all but end the Giants’ best and worst offensive performance of the afternoon.

“I think it was big because at that point they were down 23-3, so if they score it’s a different ball game,” linebacker London Fletcher said. “That was a big part of the game.”

New York finally added a touchdown with 33 seconds remaining. Ahmad Bradshaw’s three-yard score put the game at a more respectable final number. Inside the Giants locker room, that didn’t matter though.

“The Giants have really been our nemesis the last five or six years,” Fletcher said. “This year, to be able to sweep them means a lot.”

The Giants now face a must-win situation heading into a matchup against the in-house rival Jets on Christmas Eve. That would set up a Week 16 meeting at home against the Cowboys. A win then would send New York back to the playoffs for the first time since 2008.

Washington, meanwhile, has already been eliminated from postseason contention and are in the basement of the NFC East. The franchise was last in the playoffs in 2007.

“I don’t really have an opinion on who makes the playoffs,” Grossman said. “It just sucks that we’re not in it.”

The Giants could be saying the same thing next week.

The following blog was being updated from the Press Box at MetLife Stadium during the Giants/Redskins game on Sunday, Dec. 18.

› Postgame: I spoke with Mike Shanahan, Rex Grossman, Brian Orapko, Donte Stallworth and London Fletcher after the game. Check back for a game story on Monday right here on CheapSeatsRadio.net and audio on ScottStanchak.com later tonight.

› Fourth Quarter: 23-10 Redskins – Graham Gano kicked a 25-yard field goal to open the fourth quarter. He hit from 43 and 36 earlier in the game…Manning was picked off a third time when he tried to reach Mario Manningham in the corner of the end zone. Redskins cornerback Josh Wilson made the pick and sent much of the crowd out of MetLife Stadium…Tight end Jake Ballard left the game with a knee sprain. He did not return…The Giants had two touchdowns overturned with just over nine minutes remaining. The first one when it was ruled that D.J. Ware didn’t have possession of the ball at the goal line. The second to Nicks that was nullified on a holding penalty charged to David Diehl…Brian Orakpo and Ryan Kerrigan both with sacks of Manning in the fourth…The Giants finally added a touchdown on a 3-yard run by Ahmad Bradshaw. The running back had scored a few plays earlier, but it was overturned when replay showed his knee was down.

› Third Quarter: 20-3 Redskins – Manning started off the second half similar to how Grossman did the first. On the second play, first passing, his deep pass intended for Nicks was intercepted by DeAngelo Hall. That set the ball up on the Giants 34 for Washington…Tynes missed left from 44 yards out to keep the Giants point total at just three…A weird sight at the half as Devin Thomas was being tended to on the field. A marching band came out to perform, but couldn’t do so with the cart and Thomas in their way. Thomas suffered a neck injury, but is said to be walking around.

› Second Quarter: 17-3 Redskins – Grossman was hoping to have a much better second quarter and was able to start it off on the right foot. He found Santana Moss in the end zone 20 yards away for the game’s first touchdown. At first it looked like Grossman was throwing the ball away, but it fell perfectly into the back corner of the end zone and into Moss’ arms…This game has been a defensive back’s dream. This time it was Manning who was intercepted down the field on a deep pass to Cruz. The ball was batted up in the air and fell into the arms of Oshiomogho Atogwe, who returned it 26 yards. The Giants challenged the call, but it was clearly a good pick…The Redskins scored for a third time, again thanks to a third-and-long conversion which set the ball up on the Giants six. Trying to catch New York off guard, Grossman handed the ball off to the fullback Darrel Young, who dragged a couple of defenders into the end zone with him, putting Washington up 17-0…New York was finally able to stop the Redskins on third and fourth downs near the two-minute warning. Manning took the Giants down the field, but they had to settle for a 40-yard field goal from Lawrence Tynes…The big stats are the ‘Skins are 6-for-9 on third down and have held the ball 20:26 of 30 minutes.

› First Quarter: 3-0 Redskins – It wasn’t at all an ideal start for the Redskins as Grossman was picked off on the game’s first play. Washington tried to use some trickery with a flea flicker, but Grossman grossly underthrew Santana Moss and Corey Webster nabbed it easily. The Redskins defense sent the Giants to three and out though to help make the mistake an afterthought…Outside of that interception, the Redskins have been able to move the ball through the air against the Giants defensive backs, who look to be playing pretty lax…New York could have had a pretty easy touchdown on a deep pass from Manning to an open Nicks, but the ball hit the wideout’s face with the sun in his eyes and bounced off his helmet about 10 yards in front of the end zone…Grossman is just making awful decisions on deep passes, as he had his second throw of the day plucked from the air, this time by Kenny Phillips. They should stick with the slants and short routes, both of which they’ve had mild success with in the early going…Add another sack to Pierre-Paul’s season total. The defensive end hit Grossman with just over two minutes to go and sent the Redskins to 3rd-and-17. Washington picked up 16 and went for it on 4th-and-1, converting on a short pass to Jabar Gaffney…The Redskins held the ball for nearly 11 minutes this quarter.

› Preview: The Dallas Cowboys win on Saturday night can be seen as a positive or a negative. The positive is it could motivate the New York Giants with the mindset that they have to win to stay tied with Dallas at the top of the NFC East. On the flip side, the added pressure can’t help. Then again, New York does have six comeback victories this season, so perhaps it does.

Sunday’s meeting against the Washington Redskins will not be an easy one. While the Redskins are only 4-9, but they are far from an easy win as their record depicts. Last week is a prime example as Washington took the hot New England Patriots down to the wire only to lose 34-27. The Redskins, who are known more for their defense, showed their offense has the ability to keep up with even the best teams.

New York’s toughest task will be stopping rooking running back Roy Helu, who has three straight 100 yard games. Helu wasn’t even a thought to get starting reps this season; however, Tim Hightower and Ryan Torain have both been injured late in the season. Helu had 100 yards against a very good New York Jets defense. That speaks volumes for his talent.

The Redskins’ quarterback situation is much less worrisome. Rex Grossman has top target Santana Moss back after a couple week injury layoff, but he lost his top target, Fred Davis, to a drug suspension. Grossman has the ability to surprise people moving the ball down the field. Where he can be caught though is the red zone, where he is turnover prone.

Grossman needs to worry most about defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul. The sophomore has a great shot at picking up some Defensive Player of the Year honors with 12.5 sacks, 60 tackles and a number of huge blocks, including last Monday night against the Cowboys.

Eli Manning is having one of the best years of his career, thanks in part to wideout Victor Cruz. The two have connected for 1,150 yards and seven touchdowns. Manning has thrown for 25 touchdowns and 4,105 yards and has a 95.5 passer rating, nearly 13 points higher than his career average. With Hakeem Nicks and Mario Manningham also in the mix, the Giants should be able to work the ball downfield against the Redskins’ 13th ranked pass defense.

The Redskins would like nothing more than to sweep the season series — they took the Week 1 victory — and spoil the Giants’ season. New York knows what’s on the line. That’s a type of pressure they can definitely handle.

Prediction: Giants 24, Redskins 17

New York pounded the Kansas City Chiefs, 35-10, at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. on Sunday. It was the 8-5 Jets’ third straight win, pushing them into the sixth seed in the AFC playoff window. The victory featured the proper mix mixture of a potent offense and shutdown defense.

“When you have an offense that puts up 35 points,” said cornerback Antonio Cromartie. “We feel like we can sit back and then apply pressure to the quarterback and make him try to make erratic throws. It makes things a lot simpler for us.”

The Jets began Sunday’s game with a timeout before their first play from scrimmage. That could have been indicative of how the afternoon would go for New York, but it was actually quite opposite. A 31-yard run by Shonn Greene after the timeout set the momentum for the rest of the drive, which was capped off by Sanchez’ 1-yard touchdown run.

Wide receiver Santonio Holmes said putting up points to start the game always proves beneficial, especially at home.

“It’s fun man,” said Holmes. “It gets the crowd involved in the game. Everybody’s worried about the weather on the outside but once we get going on the inside and get our big guys up front blocking well, running backs running hard, receivers on the perimeter blocking, I think that gives us a fast start and we’ll take it.”

New York’s offense kicked it up a notch in the second half. Safety Jim Leonhard picked off Chiefs quarterback Tyler Palko on the Kansas City 38, setting up the Jets with great field position. Three plays later, Sanchez hit Holmes for a 4-yard touchdown.

Leonhard had to leave the game after his pick with what the team is classifying as a knee injury. He’s scheduled to receive an MRI on Monday. After the game, several players said they believe Leonhard will miss the rest of the season. It would be the second year in a row a knee injury would cut Leonhard’s season short.

Seven minutes after Holmes’ touchdown, Greene scored from seven yards out. His running back partner, LaDainian Tomlinson, later hauled in a 19-yard pass for the Jets’ fourth score of the half. Tomlinson and Greene led New York both on the ground and in the air heading into halftime up 28-3.

“The backs ran extremely hard,” said guard Matt Slauson. “It was great to see the execution in the receiving corps down on the perimeter and on the safeties. Everybody did a great job today.”

“We just couldn’t cover their backs,” said Chiefs head coach Todd Haley. “To me the backs just killed us in the first half. Their backs did a better job than we did of covering them.”

The Jets defense also had major success in the opening two quarters. On top of Leonhard’s interception, they had three sacks and only surrendered four yards of Chiefs offense and one first down. They would add one more sack and a safety before the afternoon was through.

“We knew that we wanted to come into this game and have a dominant performance,” said defensive end Aaron Maybin. “We knew we didn’t want to just come in and squeak by.  We didn’t want to just come in and play a game, keep it close and win it in the end. “

Kansas City (5-8) further began to fall apart in the third quarter. This was most evident on the Jets’ second possession of the half when the Chiefs had 81 yards in penalties. Notably, an unsportsmanlike conduct on coach Todd Haley and two pass inference calls set up Sanchez’ second rushing touchdown of the afternoon. The Jets quarterback became the first player in team history to throw and run for two scores in a single game. He also finished 13 of 21 for 181 yards.

“We wanted to come out and play them hard,” said receiver Jeremy Kerley. “Regardless of how they reacted, we were going to play them hard.”

Palko finally got the Chiefs into the end zone at 12:58 in the fourth when he found Jerheme Urban from 24 yards out. It would be the Chiefs only touchdown of the game. Palko finished 16 of 32 for 195 yards, the touchdown and one interception. He now has two touchdowns to seven interceptions in four starts this season.

“I thought we did bounce back and play better in the second half,” Haley said. “But we just have to play better.”

The Chiefs quarterback situation has been in disarray since early November when they lost starter Matt Cassel for the year with a hand injury. Palko filled in until Kansas City obtained Kyle Orton off waivers from Denver, but he injured his finger last week. Asked afterwards whether he considered bringing in rookie backup Ricky Stanzi, Haley said he did, but didn’t want to put him in this type of situation.

Greene rushed for a game high 129 yards on 24 carries. The third-year back also had three catches for 58 yards to lead the Jets. Dwayne Bowe topped the Chiefs wideouts with six catches for 69 yards.

This showing by New York should add only a slight intimidation to their upcoming matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles. While this was New York’s most complete performance of the season, it came against a struggling Chiefs team. The Eagles will pose more of a test, especially with Michael Vick and LeSean McCoy playing so well.

“The whole thing for us is to build on it and build on this week,” said Cromartie.

The Jets, once on the playoff bubble, now control their own postseason fate. With three games to go, they’re projected to be in. Their play will now dictate if they stay there.