The Giants thought they could win last season but ultimately did so as an underdog.

They've impressed some who have scouted them this season as a team that's playing with more confidence, more of a chip on its shoulder and more of a swagger than last year's champions.

Still, a return trip to the Super Bowl isn't etched in stone.

The Browns proved the Giants can be beaten.

The Bengals, Steelers and Eagles came close to doing the same.

Others can and will provided they can accomplish enough of the following:

No. 1 -- Don't fall behind: Teams that allow the Giants to get a lead comfortable enough to turn loose their pass rush and run the ball at their discretion are doomed.

No. 2 -- Neutralize the Giants' running game: The Steelers did. Cincinnati and San Francisco almost did. The Giants may be No. 1 in the NFL in rushing, but they're not unstoppable.

The key to beating their zone-blocking, stretch-you-out approach is shooting gaps and getting to monster back Brandon Jacobs before he gets turned upfield. Tackling Jacobs high is suicide. But if you can get to him low and before he generates much momentum, you can get him on the ground.

No. 3 -- Put the game on Eli's shoulders and pressure him: QB Eli Manning has been more decisive this season, but he still threw three interceptions against the Browns on a night when the Giants rushed for 181 yards and averaged 7.2 yards per carry.

Yes, he has a ring. He also has a passer rating of 87.6 and still-questionable arm strength and accuracy.

No. 4 -- Get your receivers off the line of scrimmage and attack an average-to-good secondary: Notice we didn't say "great secondary." The Giants' pass rush qualifies as fearsome, but if you can keep your QB upright long enough you can get the ball downfield against the Giants.

No. 5 -- Make a play: The Giants did against the Steelers, as Manning hit WR Amani Toomer for 30 yards on fourth-and-6 during a furious fourth-quarter rally, and again on Nov. 9 at Philadelphia, stopping a fourth-and-1 run with less than two minutes remaining. That type of stuff has been happening more and more this season, a product of that newfound confidence and attitude to which we referred.

The Giants are 5-0 against teams with wining records as of this morning, but must play five more such clubs and a team that's .500 at present to close out the regular season.

They can and will be beaten, particularly by teams that can eliminate the fear factor from the equation as well as the Giants did in Super Bowl XLII against New England.

Down the stretch they come

Only the Giants, Carolina and Detroit face schedules that do not include teams with losing records as of today the rest of the way:

Giant Steps

Today, at Arizona (7-3)

Nov. 30, at Washington (6-4)

Dec. 7, Philadelphia (5-4-1)

Dec. 14, at Dallas (6-4)

Dec. 21, *Carolina (8-2)

Dec. 28, at Minnesota (5-5)

* -- Carolina faces two teams with .500 records as of today and Detroit three over the final six regular-season games

SUNDAY BEST

STUBHUB IF YOU MUST: Jets at Titans -- Tennessee shoots for 11-0 against a team that has suddenly become a team much more than it has the Brett Favre Traveling Circus. That, at least, is the way it appeared when the Jets, behind a disciplined, under-control Favre, beat New England, 34-31 in overtime, on Nov. 13. The Titans still aren't getting the respect they deserve. Perhaps, if they beat a team from New York, those who consider the Giants the best team in Football will realize Tennessee is still undefeated.

MUST-SEE TV: Giants at Cardinals -- It appeared Arizona had turned a corner upon beating Dallas back on Oct. 12, but following a bye the Cardinals lost their next game, 27-23 at Carolina. Arizona has won three straight since, the first three-game winning streak of the Ken Whisenhunt Era, and may just have the QB and receiving corps to actually outscore the perceived best team in the NFL.

MUST TIVO TV: Patriots at Dolphins -- Miami unleashed its version of "Wildcat Madness" on Sept. 21 at New England. The Dolphins wound up rushing for 216 yards in a 38-13 triumph. We're guessing Bill Belichick will have made some significant defensive adjustments between then and now, adjustments that will be worth studying given the proliferation of Wildcat-like imitations across the NFL since then.

BE SOMEWHERE ELSE: Texans at Browns -- Cleveland almost made history on Monday night, coming within a missed Ryan Lindell 47-yard field goal of becoming the first team in NFL history to lose three consecutive games after leading by at least 13 points in each game. That's where the Browns are these days. The Texans are on the road, where they're 0-5 this season and 4-25 since 2005.

PLAYING FAVORITES(AND DOGS AND PARLAYS AND TEASERS)

Vegas is getting smarter.

The number-crushing Tennessee Titans improved to 9-1 ATS with last Sunday's 24-14 win at Jacksonville.

As a result, the Titans have been installed as five-point favorites when they host the J-E-T-S Jets!Jets!Jets! this afternoon.

It's the second-largest spot Tennessee has afforded an opponent this season, behind the 8.5 points the Titans gave Kansas City on Oct. 19.

Elsewhere in numerology:

* The New York Football Giants have won five straight SU and ATS.

* Buffalo has lost four straight SU and ATS.

* St. Louis has lost three straight SU and ATS.

* Green Bay is 3-2 SU over its last five games, but 5-0 ATS.

* Houston, Cleveland, Detroit and San Francisco have all gone "over" in three straight games.

* The Jets Jets!Jets!Jets! have also gone "over" in three straight, as well as 3-0 SU and 3-0 ATS in their last three.

* Washington has gone "under" in five of six, and pushed the total on the one occasion it failed to remain under in that span.

* Seattle has gone "under" in three straight.

* Miami has gone "under" in four straight.

HURRY-UP OFFENSE

Cowboys turn to Barber

What took them so long?

Leading at critical game at Washington last Sunday night by the tenuous count of 14-10 with 6:40 remaining, the Cowboys finally did repeatedly what they should have been doing all along.

They shoved RB Marion Barber down the Redskins' throats.

Beginning on first-and-10 from the Dallas 37-yard line, Barber carried six consecutive times for 27 yards.

Suddenly needing a change-of-pace play on third-and-8 from the Redskins' 36, the Cowboys opted for a pass from QB Tony Romo to Barber, who gained another 10.

Four more Barber carries, the last a 3-yard dash to the first down marker on fourth-and-1 with 1:08 remaining, sealed the deal.

All that was required after that were a couple of Romo kneel-downs to close out the game.

It was a display of clock-killing Powerball at its finest.

Everyone at FedEx Field knew Barber was about to get the Football and the Cowboys kept giving it to him, anyway.

While doing so, they displayed the urgency and intensity and focus that so often this season had been missing.

It appears they've reawakened just in time.

Track record

While in the process of insisting that he didn't want to talk about the officiating following last Sunday's 11-10 victory by the Steelers over the Chargers, Mike Tomlin allowed that he'd never seen a game where one team was penalized 13 times to the other team's once.

The Chargers were actually penalized twice.

Tomlin forgot to include the botched forward lateral call against San Diego that mistakenly wiped out what should have been a game-ending touchdown by Troy Polamalu, but hey, who's counting?

Where referee Scott Green is concerned, that might not be a bad idea.

Green worked the St. Louis-New England game on Oct. 26.

The Rams were penalized nine times for 63 yards.

The Patriots were penalized zero times for zero yards.

Bet Rams interim head coach Jim Haslett had never seen anything quite like that, either.

Speaking of betting _ the Patriots were nine-point favorites in that game and failed to cover in a 23-16 triumph.

What was lost

You've no doubt buy now been made painfully aware of the milLions and milLions of dollars wagered on the Steelers that were lost when Polamalu's touchdown, which would have covered the 4.5-o-6 points the Steelers were laying, was taken off the scoreboard.

But the Steelers also lost seven points.

That'll only cost them, potentially, if they become involved in a two-team tie-breaker, or a tie between three or more clubs, for the AFC North Division championship at season's end.

The seventh tie-breaker in those scenarios, behind head-to-head, best won-lost percentage in the division, best won-lost percentage in common games, best won-lost percentage in the conference, strength of victory and strength of schedule is "best combined ranking among conference teams in points scored and points allowed."

That's also the seventh tie-breaker in two-team and three-or-more-team draws for wild card spots.

For Green's sake, and the league's, we can only hope it doesn't come to that.

Fourth & Goal's Top 32:

1. Tennessee Titans (10-0) -- QB Collins' passer rating in last two is 111.4

2. New York Football Giants (9-1) -- Triumphant return to Az., site of SB XLII

3. Carolina Panthers (8-2) -- QB Delhomme 7-1 in last eight vs. NFC South

4. Arizona Cardinals (7-3) -- No. 7 run defense may turn tide vs. NYFG

5. Pittsburgh Steelers (8-3)

6. New York Jets (7-3) -- Chance to make a statement today in Tennessee

7. Dallas Cowboys (6-4) -- Soft schedule the next two weeks (SF, Sea.) an elixir

8. Washington Redskins (6-4) -- RB Portis over 1,000 yards but getting banged up

9. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-3) -- RB Graham and his 4.3 per carry land on IR

10. Baltimore Ravens (6-4) -- Rookie head coach Harbaugh faces former team

11. Philadelphia Eagles (5-4-1) -- Might have to work overtime to stop slide

12. New England Patriots (6-4) -- Belichick gets second crack at Miami "Wildcat"

13. Indianapolis Colts (6-4) -- If they can survive San Diego, they're on their way

14. Miami Dolphins (6-4) -- Chance to win five st. for first time since 2005

15. San Diego Chargers (4-6) -- Problems begin with minus 5 T.O. margin

16. Denver Broncos (6-4) -- Came up with potential season-altering W in Atla.

17. Atlanta Falcons ((6-4) -- Must recapture home magic today vs. Carolina

18. New Orleans Saints (5-5) -- No. 1 in total offense but No. 28 in rushing

19. Minnesota Vikings (5-5) -- Hitting QBs getting expensive for DE Jared Allen

20. Green Bay Packers (5-5) -- No. 16 offense, No. 16 defense defines mediocrity

21. Chicago Bears (5-5) -- Leading team in rushing, receiving rookie RB's Forte

22. Jacksonville Jaguars (4-6) -- QB Garrard 7-0 in career starts vs. NFC

23. Buffalo Bills (5-5) -- They've lost faith in QB Edwards

24. Cleveland Browns (4-6) -- Escape in Buffalo won't save Romeo

25. Houston Texans (3-7) -- Averaging 25.8 ppg. since opener vs. Steelers

26. SF 49ers (3-7) -- All or nothing offense (47 20-plus-yard plays, 25 T.O.)

27. Seattle Seahawks (2-8) -- Wash. Visit a reminder of playoff Ws (in '05 and '07)

28. Cincinnati Bengals (1-9-1) -- Kick another field goal, Marvin

29. Kansas City Chiefs (1-9) -- Tough to "win the game" with No. 32 defense

30. St. Louis Rams (2-8) -- Hapless without RB Jackson

31. Oakland Raiders (2-8) -- Cable-ready but not Cable-willing or Cable-able

32. Detroit Lions (0-10) -- Not much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving

STATS OF THE WEEK

What's hot: The first playoff scenarios of 2008 have surfaced, a sure sign that the postseason will be upon us before we know it. In the NFC, Arizona can clinch the West Division title with a win over the New York Football Giants coupled with a San Francisco loss at Dallas and a Seattle loss or tie against Washington (that's right Donovan McNabb, ties can and in fact do occasionally happen in the NFL in the regular season). The Steelers' win on Thursday night over Cincinnati prevented Tennessee from clinching a playoff spot today.

What's not: The 13-13 tie played at Paul Brown Stadium last Sunday between Philadelphia and Cincinnati featured the two teams combining to go 7-for-38 on third-down conversions (18.4 percent) and neither rushing for 100 yards in 75 minutes of mind-numbing ineptitude. Bengals QB Ryan Fitzpatrick was sacked eight times (seven times in regulation) and Bengals K Shayne Graham missed a 47-yard field goal with 13 seconds left in the extra session. It may never have come to that had Eagles QB Donovan McNabb not thrown three interceptions. The Bengals followed up their performance with a 27-10 loss on Thursday night in Pittsburgh.