The Giants' two-month slump opened the door for the Cowboys and Eagles to take control of the Nfc East, but neither of them managed to pull away. The Cowboys even had a chance to finish off the Giants themselves last weekend, but blew that, too.
So now here the Giants are, still teetering on the edge of elimination, but with an unexpected last chance to thrust themselves into the thick of the NFC East title chase - maybe even the lead.
"The way the season has gone we didn't think we would have this chance," said running back Brandon Jacobs. "They couldn't kick us out when we were playing bad so now you have to live with us."
How much longer the NFC East will have to live with the Giants (7-5) will become much clearer Sunday night when they face the Eagles (8-4) at what could be a very cold and wet Giants Stadium. A loss by the Giants and they'll have all-but conceded the division race. But if they win they could wake up Monday morning locked in a first-place tie.
That's just remarkable considering the Giants are just a couple of weeks removed from a season-killing stretch of five losses in six games. But they re-announced their presence in the division with a convincing and emotional 31-24 win over the Cowboys last Sunday.
"I thought the players responded to that the other night," said Tom Coughlin. "They were focused. They believed. What I really liked was the resiliency was back. If something bad happened, they still responded. They came right back and played harder."
That's exactly the opposite of the way the Giants played the first time they faced the Eagles, when they lost 40-17 in Philadelphia on Nov. 1 - easily the most embarrassing loss in the Giants' miserable two-month stretch. They gave up 180 rushing yards that day to a team that was without Brian Westbrook, including a 41-yard touchdown to fullback Leonard Weaver and a 66-yarder to LeSean McCoy. They also got beat for a 54-yard touchdown pass from Donovan McNabb to DeSean Jackson as the Eagles built a 30-7 halftime lead.
The game knocked the Giants out of first place and left linebacker Antonio Pierce feeling "mind-boggled by how we're playing." They were blitzed by two Eagles touchdowns in a 52-second span just before halftime, and Justin Tuck said he looked at his teammates after that and wasn't sure if they truly believed they could come back.
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