They moved closer to the first-place Dallas Cowboys by beating them at home last week, and Dallas fell even further to New York by losing again, at home to San Diego, earlier in the day on Sunday.

So, it was there for the taking on Sunday night.

Follow up one big NFC East win over Dallas with another over the Philadelphia Eagles, and the Giants would regain the division lead they once held over both Dallas and Philadelphia after their very promising 5-0 start to the 2009 season.

However, it wasn’t meant to be.

The franchise that will go down as the winingest visiting team in the history of the current Giants Stadium, found yet another different way to defeat Big Blue at the Meadowlands, this time, in a 45-38 shootout, on Sunday night.

Although the Giants have certainly had the best of the Eagles during the course of one of the NFL’s best rivalries of all-time, the Eagles have found some very creative ways to break the hearts of Big Blue supporters at Giants Stadium over the years.

In 1978, it was Herman Edwards’ Miracle At The Meadowlands touchdown. Ten years and a day later, Clyde Simmons’ fumbling, game-winning score off of a Giants’ blocked field goal made Giants’ fans again shake their collective heads in heartbreaking disbelief. In 2003, it was Brian Westbrook’s 84-yard punt return with 1:16 left in the game which stole another late Giants Stadium win for the Eagles.

And, on Sunday night, in the 154th game between the Giants and Eagles, Philadelphia (9-4) scored, and scored, and scored some more, to hold off a prolific scoring effort by New York, in the highest scoring meeting ever between the two teams in their 76-year-old rivalry.

If anyone leading up to the game was still cringing and complaining over Giants’ quarterback Eli Manning’s poor performance or Plaxico Burress shooting himself out of the lineup in last year’s divisional home playoff loss to the Eagles, they weren’t pointing their fingers that way this time.

Although the Giants fumbled five times, losing four, while the Eagles turned the ball over just once, two of the lost fumbles didn’t matter, and the Giants put up enough offense to win had their defense not let them down like it has so many other times this season.

In a game which featured five touchdowns of 60 yards or more, New York amassed 512 yards of offense (outgaining the Eagles by 138 yards), controlled the ball for a healthy 34:46

Unlike last year’s playoffs, Giants fans can’t pin this one on Manning or on the offense he directed.

In fact, had the Giants’ defense shown up at all in any number of big spots, the game might have gone down as one of the best of Manning’s career. The Giants’ signal caller finished with a 130.5 passer rating, spreading the ball around to eight different receivers, completing 27 of 38 passes for a career-high 391 yards, while throwing three touchdowns and no interceptions. He also led New York to 27 first downs (to Philadelphia’s 20) and a comeback from two different 14-point first-half deficits and a 13-point third-quarter hole, only to see the Giants’ inept defense immediately give the lead back for good later in the same period.

To put all of that in its proper perspective, the Giants’ 38 points marked the most they have ever scored in a home loss in their long and storied history, and it was their highest point total in any loss in 43 years, since a 49-40 defeat in Cleveland, in 1966. It was also the most points ever allowed in a loss by a Tom Coughlin-coached team.

In a game like this, you usually ask if anyone is capable of tackling, but even that’s difficult to do when you can’t get close enough because you’re putting virtually no pressure on the opposing quarterback, and covering wide open receivers even worse.

The Giants’ defense allowed the Eagles to open the game by marching 67 yards on six plays in 3:27 for a quick 7-0 lead.

Four plays later, the crazy Meadowlands luck of years past continued for the Eagles, when Giants’ running back Brandon Jacobs had the ball knocked free. Before hitting the ground, the ball hit the heel of Giants’ tight end Kevin Boss (who was blocking ahead of Jacobs), and caromed high to a waiting Sheldon Brown, who took it 60 yards the other way for a 14-0 Philadelphia lead just 5:20 into the game.

The Giants’ offense responded though with a drive for a Lawrence Tynes 26-yard field goal in the first quarter, and then 1:53 into the second period, Manning hit rookie Hakeem Nicks, who made a nice spin move to break a tackle and streak 68 yards for a touchdown to pull New York to within 14-10.

But then, the Giants’ defense allowed a twelve-play, 75-yard drive for a field goal before Big Blue’s special teams broke down, allowing the speedy DeSean Jackson to wait for the Giants’ coverage team to overrun him, turning seemingly nothing into a 72-yard punt return for a touchdown to put Philadelphia ahead, 24-10.

Once again, the Giants’ offense kept New York in the game. Manning led an eight-play, 67-yard drive that was finished by running back Ahmad Bradshaw’s 3-yard touchdown run, to get the Giants back to within 24-17 with 1:30 left in the opening half.

However, the Eagles then came right back on the Giants’ porous pass defense again. New York inexcusably allowed a 44-yard completion from quarterback Donovan McNabb (17-26, 275 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT) with the Eagles facing a third-and-20 from their own 32-yard line.

Three plays later, McNabb found tight end Brent Celek for another 23-yard chunk of yardage, setting up a one-yard touchdown run by Michael Vick (PAT missed) ten seconds before the half, for a 30-17 halftime lead for the Eagles.

It was the second time in as many games against the Giants this season that the Eagles posted a 30-spot in the first half against New York. The Giants trailed 30-7 at the half in a 40-17 Week 8 loss in Philadelphia. The 85 combined points were the most any team has scored against the Giants in one season since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger, and that type of scoring allowed the first Eagles’ sweep of the Giants in five years.

The game also marked the first season since 1973 that the Giants have given up at least 40 points or more in at least three games.

Giants’ defensive end very bluntly admitted, “Our defense, we just played like crap. Our offense, for them to put up that many points, and we can’t come out with a victory, we just can’t have that.”

And still, the Giants’ offense wouldn’t let its team go away quietly in such a big divisional game.

New York took the opening kickoff of the second half and drove 74 yards on eleven plays, with Manning completing a 23-yard pass to Boss and a 20-yarder to Nicks, to help set up a Jacobs one-yard touchdown plunge on fourth-and-goal, to draw the Giants to within 30-24.

Then, the Giants’ defense finally came through for a short while.

Linebacker Jonathan Goff intercepted McNabb, giving New York great field position at the Philadelphia 29-yard line, but Manning fumbled on a controversial call when he dove head first and the ground caused the ball to pop loose and be recovered at the Eagles’ 14-yard line.

The play didn’t hurt New York much though, because the Giants’ defense actually responded with, get this –- a three-and-out, and Manning took advantage right away, with a 61-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Domenik Hixon, to give the Giants their only lead of the game, 31-30, with 5:12 left in the third quarter.

That’s when the New York defense went from Big Blue to Big Bust again, allowing Philadelphia to regain the lead for good, 37-31, just 15 seconds later on a 60-yard touchdown pass from McNabb to Jackson, who not only torched the Giants for 178 yards on six catches, but he embarrassed them on that play, losing the New York secondary so badly, that he danced backwards into the end zone for the final few yards before scoring.

It was the eighth touchdown of 50 yards or more for Jackson, which tied an NFL record.

In the fourth quarter, the Giants, still down just six points, had Philadelphia backed up at its own 9-yard line after a good punt by Jeff Feagles.

So naturally, rather than getting the ball back with good field position for a Giants’ offense that was humming, the New York defense allowed a game-clinching twelve-play, 91-yard touchdown drive which ate up 7:24. And, for good measure, they allowed the ensuing two-point conversion, as well, putting Philadelphia ahead, 45-31.

The Giants’ offense still battled back, scoring on a four-yard Manning touchdown pass to Boss with 1:31 left, but an onside kick attempt failed, and the Eagles held on for their fourth straight win over the Giants and their third in a row over New York at Giants Stadium.

Prior to the Giant’s final touchdown, with 2:21 remaining and two timeouts left, the Mario Manningham just missed getting his left toe inbounds on what was very nearly a 28-yard touchdown catch from Manning.

Had that play been a touchdown, the Giants could have used the two-minute warning as a third timeout to get the ball back and score again to force overtime.

But, did that many in the building have any confidence that if that scenario took place, and the Giants needed a big stop, that the defense would actually come through?

The way it actually did play out, the Giants’ defense caused New York to miss a big opportunity.

And yet, the Giants might still have everything still set up okay. Maybe no longer to win the NFC East, but at least, to make the playoffs, since Dallas is in the midst of its annual December swoon, started by that Giants’ victory over the Cowboys last week.

New York (7-6) trails Dallas (8-5) by a game in the standings, but it holds the tiebreaker having swept the Cowboys this season, and the Giants appear to have a significantly more manageable schedule over the final three weeks of the regular season.

A disappointed yet realistic Coughlin said, “We still have a lot to play for.”

Meanwhile, Tuck said, “That’s what thing I know about this team. We won’t ever quit.”

After losing another game to the Eagles, the Giants can’t afford to.

Marvelous McNabb throws for a mile…. The Eagles quarterback played very well on Sunday, but no matter how often he threw (55 times) or who he threw the ball to (seven different receivers) it wasn’t enough. While the Eagles fell McNabb’s numbers rose with 35 completions for 450 yards in the air and two touchdowns in a week 10 loss to the Chargers.

Action Jackson will not be stopped…. If you drafted running back Steven Jackson, but had second thoughts because the Rams offense is just bad pat yourself on the back for sticking with the stud. The St. Louis Rams may be 1-7, but that is not stopping “Action” Jackson from having a big season. On Sunday Jackson turned in his third straight 100-yard rushing game with 176 total yards against the Saints. Only twice has Jackson totaled less than 100 yards and for the season he has 1,146 yards of total offense ranking second behind Chris Johnson.
 
Worst of the Worst

When it comes to the Raiders-Chiefs rivalry, the Silver and Black know very little about home-field advantage. Thanks primarily to an inept offense that converted just 12 percent (2/16) of third downs, completed just 13 of 32 passes, and turned the ball over twice, the Raiders lost for the seventh straight time at home against the Chiefs. The Raiders are now 2-7; how did they win two games?

Jury is still Out

Has the Broncos offense finally turned the corner? Well after a fast start on Sunday against the Redskins, it certainly appeared that McDaniels had made the necessary adjustments and the offense was finally right. This was all until disaster struck. After watching Orton complete 11 of 18 for 193 yards and two touchdowns in the first half, the Broncos offense completely disappeared with backup Chris Simms in the game for the injured Orton. With a big matchup with San Diego in week 11 and Simms the likely starter, the offense might regress some before taking any more forward steps. The Jury is going to remain out on Denver’s “Patriot’s West” offense, at least until a healthy Orton returns.

10 Things I Remember From Sunday

(Week 10)

1. The Panthers used their two-headed monster out of the back-field to take down the Falcons; Stewart and Williams combined for 174 yards and two touchdowns.

2. One of my “Four Horsemen” Sidney Rice puts up 201 receiving yards against the Lions secondary.

3. The Titan’s running back Chris Johnson plays like a stud in a league of his own totaling 232 yards and scoring two touchdowns against the Bills.

4. The Redskins offensive line just blew holes into the Broncos defense all day to the tune of 174 yards on the ground.

5. Despite their recent struggles through the air, the Broncos and quarterback Kyle Orton came out gun-slinging in week 10; Orton passed for 193 yards in the first half before leaving with an injury.

6. The “Old man” in Arizona Kurt Warner took a while to get started, but once he did he was unstoppable completing 29 of 38 passes for over 300-yards and two touchdowns.

7. The Bengals defense showed up on Sunday against Big Ben and the Steelers recording four sacks and a forced fumble in their 18-12 win.

8. Steven Jackson is a one man wrecking crew in St. Louis rushing for 131 yards and catching nine balls for another 45 yards.

9. Who is Brandon Gibson, likely the next Waiver wire darling after catching seven passes for 93 yards.

10. Peyton Manning is still Peyton Manning; Sunday night against the Patriots he passed for 327 yards with four touchdowns.

Remember to check back for more “Monday Morning Huddle!”

Question 1: Pleased to get through that, considering you weren’t feeling your best?

Question 2: Was it the heat, as well? Did that get to you?

Question 3: Had you prepared any differently in terms of what you ate or drank before?

If you didn’t know any better you would think Murray would be going home, but he did in fact win his second round match against Chilean Philip Capdeville, he just dropped the second set, 6-2, 3-6, 6-0, 6-2.

“I played three, you know, very good sets and one poor one,” Murray responded to the first question. “But you’re allowed to play a bad set sometimes. I came back well from it. You know, I don’t know, just felt a little bit lethargic, a little bit low on energy. You know, I don’t know why. But, you know, managed to pick it up at the end when I needed to.”

You see, Murray is used to this kind of treatment. Over in Great Brittan the Scottish superstar is Alex Rodriguez, Brad Pitt, and Paris Hilton all rolled into one. He is their great white hope for a Grand Slam champion, and even if it’s not Wimbledon this year, Murray is expected to at least repeat his final appearance of 2008.

That’s what makes it tough for the 22 year-old, who is ranked seeded second behind Roger Federer. For the English, he is the star, a young player who a .faded empire is pinning their hopes upon. Just look at the other top players out there. Most are European who proudly wear the colors of their flags on their sleeves.

Much like the way New York has a rivalry with Boston, Great Brittan has its feuds with every other country in the EU. So with every Federer win and Rafael Nadal victory, British pride takes a hit. Remember this was once an empire that controled most of the world. These days they can’t even win their own tournament.

That is until Murray came on the scene. Last Saturday, he said he doesn’t get followed home in New York like he did in England. In fact, he finds the city rather relaxing, although he is sleeping in a hotel.

“You know, Wimbledon for me is nice away from the court, because at the end of the day you get to go back and sleep in your own bed and be at home,” he said. “In some ways, that’s very, very relaxing, compared to having to stay in hotels and whatnot.

“I mean, I’ve always loved playing this tournament since I was young. I like the atmosphere here. I like New York as a city. You know, whether you get recognized or not to me doesn’t make a huge difference on how much I enjoy a place or not.”

Plus Flushing Meadows is the site of his best finish in a Grand Slam and most likely the place he will eventually win, if he can ever get by Federer.

“This is my best surface,” he said. “I mean, physically I think most of the players – well, for me anyway, you go into Australia probably feeling the best all around. Mentally fresh, you know, physically you’re going to be in good shape because you’ve just had the off-season. You can make sure you prepare properly.

“You know, here I’ve obviously played a lot of matches, so I feel match tight. But it’s a long year. Mentally I feel fresh just now, but it’s a little bit different to the start of the year.”

So maybe the British press should lay off of Murray a little bit. He has brought British pride back to tennis and is a classy player in a sport filled with good guys.

Remember, it’s okay to have a bad day, and today, he only had a bad set.

It did not matter that the Mets lost another game Thursday evening at Citi Field, 3-2 to the Atlanta Braves. It did not matter that they lost two of three games to Atlanta. What once was a great divisional rivalry between the two teams is no more. The Braves are in contention and the Mets are not, losing their 65^th game of the season.

Sheffield was dressed and out of the ballpark moments after the last pitch. Manuel would not refer to the contract dispute, but it is known Sheffield is not a part of the Mets long range plans. Manuel would not elaborate and said, “He had some issues to take care of and asked to be removed form the lineup.”

Nothing more than another bit of quiet turmoil that has surrounded the New York Mets as they quietly play out the string with 43 games remaining.  Besides Sheffield causing some turmoil, pitcher Livan Hernandez was released before the game to make room for the season debut of Billy Wagner. Hernandez was not happy and quickly left the clubhouse looking for another job after going 7-8 with a 5.47 ERA in 23 games.

Wagner would pitch a perfect eighth inning and got a rousing ovation from the Citi Field crowd, his first appearance in a game since August 2, 2008 at Houston after elbow ligament replacement surgery. “I guess you are always worried about how you are going to be perceived,” said Wagner about the ovation.

Wagner reportedly said he would waive his no trade clause and go to a contender if it can be worked out. Whether or not Wagner is being showcased, he looked good. He threw 14 pitches in the inning, nine for strikes. His fastball was clocked at 96 and struck out Reid Gorecki, got Chipper Jones to fly to right and struck out Brian McCann.

“To come back after eleven months and face these, caliber of hitters makes it better,” commented Wagner. Manuel said about his performance, “Really a big plus going forward not only for us but for his career. I would have to say he is back but be careful.”

So the game and another loss for the Mets was not the story. Neither was the otherwise seven good strong innings pitched by Johan Santana who threw 77 pitches and got the loss. Obvious that Santana, (13-9) was moved to showcase Wagner a free agent who could be traded before the August 31 waiver deadline.

“Overall I thought I had good stuff,” said Santana avoiding the issue of leaving a close game with a low pitch count. The decision was up to Manuel for Wagner to make his season debut and Santana, the professional he is, just evaluated his outing. “I was just trying to do my job,” he said.

“Johan competed and gave us a chance to win,” said Manuel. “We’re very happy with the performance he gives us all the time.” Santana has been that hard luck pitcher in this dismal Mets season. He has given up three runs in four of his last six starts and the Mets have failed to score more than two runs for him in nine of his starts this season.

Sheffield will be at Citi Field Friday evening when the Mets begin a four-game series with first place Philadelphia. But a source said the Mets will do everything they can to try Sheffield who was claimed by the Giants on waivers last week according to SI.com. That means the Mets only can release him or put him on waivers again, which means either a team claims him or he will be released.

Wagner will continue to be showcased, or there could be a change of thought about a trade if he continues to throw hard and effective like he did.

More drama to come as Pedro Martinez gets the start for the Phillies against his former team Sunday afternoon.  And with Wagner back and Sheffield unhappy, are the Mets waiving the white flag or maximizing their assets for the future?

E-mail Rich Mancuso: Ring786@aol.com

So this is what it’s come down to for Tom Renney’s bumbling Rangers who couldn’t even solve new Devil Kryptonite Scott Clemmensen, who repelled all 27 his way en route to his first shutout in nearly five years.

“It’s been a long time,” the likable 31 year-old miracle worker noted after picking up his 23rd win against a punchless archrival headed the wrong way following a 3-0 clunker .”Obviously I haven’t played that many games … but it was nice to get.”

That he got it against the Blueshirts improving to 3-0 against this season reversing the Hudson rivalry with three consecutive wins was all too predictable.

It’s true that I didn’t catch this one opting to take in a close gal friend whose school was in the city playing at Baruch in lower Manhattan. It turned out to be a lot more memorable and fun than staying in and watching the conservative Renney system prevent his club from giving themselves a realistic chance against a superior foe that bounced back the way good teams do.

Someone might want to get the memo to Glen Sather because a season which started so promising is slipping away. During the five-game win-less skid (0-4-1), they’ve been outscored 22-5 getting no more than two goals in any contest while now being blanked twice. The low-light of course was the 10-2 debacle in Big D where the Stars got the final seven pouring it on in an uncompetitive third in which they got half a dozen. Following last night, that’s 15-3 since the month began.

For the Renney supporters out there who feel a well respected coach who’s brought respectability back to the Ranger jersey making the postseason three years running deserves the next 28 games, how does this sound?

Off a flat performance when they honored the Heart of a Ranger Adam Graves, the even keeled fifth year coach put them through a hard 45 minute practice doing suicides in hopes of opening their eyes. The players all said the right things including disappearing captain Chris Drury and even MIA Wade Redden going into that game against Dallas.

Then they went out and got embarrassed reminding panicked fans of a 9-1 drubbing in Ottawa on what was Jaromir Jagr’s Ranger debut during a different Error. It was the worst defeat of The Renney Era. While he has done a solid job making the second round the past couple of years, the team’s play has become worse as this season has worn on.

Truthfully, they haven’t been the same since a 5-2 pasting in Toronto on Nov.1 when Steve Valiquette was victimized by five unanswered Maple Leafs goals in about a seven minute span. That the poor backup was in for all 10 against the Stars was all too ironic.

It hasn’t helped that Redden has tanked while the play of Scott Gomez and Brandon Dubinsky have severely tailed off. Renney isn’t helping the club by continually shuffling the deck sending out a mixed bag. Before the season, the Rangers’ greatest strength was their center depth. By playing Drury on wing with Gomez which failed miserably when teamed with top finisher Markus Naslund at the beginning, the coach is only hurting the team’s chances.

They already sit back too much explaining the paltry 2.4 goal-per-game average which fell even further last night at The Rock. Most disturbing is that the team from Hasan’s recap and close buddy Rob “Kraze” Davis’ summary is that they didn’t respond in the fashion needed to compete against a well oiled machine.

Sixteen shots through two periods along with a lack of discipline including Dubinsky’s mistimed minor penalty 22 seconds after Bobby Holik scored leading to Ranger tormentor Zach Parise notching the first of two on his way to 32 goals this season was far from the response needed to turn it around.

Though they came out and outshot the Devils 11-7 in the final 20, from all accounts, it was a beaten team with only Blair Betts showing. What exactly does that say? Have they quit on Renney? Judging from some recent quotes from key players, there seems to be doubt as to what exactly the strategy is.

“Right now, we’re in a tough spot,” Henrik Lundqvist indicated after turning aside 28 of 30 shots wasn’t enough to save his fading teammates. “We need everybody to step up, starting with me. I have to play the best that I can.”

It doesn’t get any easier with a challenging portion of the schedule the rest of the week bringing MVP frontrunner Alex Ovechkin and the Caps to Broadway tomorrow along with a pivotal match at Florida Friday with the surging Flyers visiting Sunday afternoon in primetime.

Add it up and it might just be make or break for this slumping team almost begging for Sean Avery to lace ‘em up. Even if The Grate One returns, it won’t probably be for another couple of weeks and who knows by then where they’ll be.

Only the Canadiens (6-2 losers to Calgary) are playing poorly with the Flyers now fourth in the conference while the Habs are a point ahead of the Rangers with the Sabres, Hurricanes and Panthers coming on. The Pens are still lurking a couple of points out.

There’s no way of knowing if the Rangers can get out of this funk. What’s their identity? We know who the Devils are showing plenty of character minus Martin Brodeur. We still have no clue who Renney’s club is. If he’s staying for now, they need to respond soon.

Twenty-eight to go.

Rafa Nadal looks to hold on to his No. 1 ranking.

It will once again be the best rivalry in sports renewed when Roger Federer takes on Rafael Nadal in a battle between the now No.2 13-time slam winner versus the No.1 ranked five-time slam champion.

Plenty will be on the line with the 27 year-old Federer aiming to match American Pete Sampras by winning his 14th grand slam. Nadal, who spoiled the party dethroning Roger at Wimbledon in a memorable five-set epic will again be standing in the way trying to win his first ever slam on a hard court.

Can the 22 year-old Spaniard who’s made life miserable for Federer add to an impressive 12-6 career record including 4-2 at slams by beating him on a neutral surface?

The bigger question is what will Rafa have left in the tank after outlasting fellow Spaniard Fernando Verdasco in the longest ever men’s match at Melbourne Park winning it 6-7 (4), 6-4, 7-6 (2), 6-7 (1), 6-4 with it lasting five hours and 14 minutes?

The amazing aspect is the 14th seeded Verdasco who had the best slam result of his career ousting No.4 Andy Murray in five and last year’s runner-up No.5 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in four somehow lost despite a ridiculous 95 winners while Nadal countered with 52.

Unfortunately, he double faulted on match point concluding the dramatic semifinal.

Nadal committed just 25 unforced errors while Verdasco made 76 in a match people are still talking about for the quality of play with neither Spaniard giving an inch during lengthy rallies.

So, can Nadal bounce back from a shorter recovery with a well rested Federer having more than a day extra to prepare after taking down Andy Roddick in straights needing just over two hours?

The pressure will squarely be on Federer when they take the court with  legend Rod Laver in his arena looking on.

The big match is set for 3:30 AM Sunday morning on the East coast or 12:30 AM Pacific. That’s 7:30 PM Australian time. So, get out the caffeine and tune into ESPN2. If you can’t stay up, they’ll replay both women’s and men’s finals at 3 ET Sunday afternoon.