A week after the season low-point, a fourth straight loss that all but closed the door on back-to-back NFC East championships, New York took control in a tough stadium and ensured that Sunday's game against Philly will be another big one, the kind a season-ticket holder dreams about in Week 14.

I've said it before: when the Giants go well, those seats are like gold. Our $85 seats can fetch $200 (not that I care about the money; I'm not selling mine). And we've had a slew of $200 games: vs. the Colts, Bears and Cowboys, with the Eagles to follow and a subsequent matchup against the Saints on Christmas Eve. In a season that some diagnosed as DOA before the start — due to a brutal schedule — we're assured of having all eight home games matter big-time (really matter, not like those Week 16 playoff scenarios where some 7-9 team is "alive" but needs to score 152 points and get help from four teams). That's some cool shit.

Of course, we're no longer the conference power we pretended to be after 8½ games, with a 6-2 record and a 13-3 lead over the Bears with under two minutes left in the first half (and down only 4 with 1st-and-10 from the Chicago 29 with 12:29 remaining in the fourth quarter).

But a dreadful final 12 minutes be damned, we were right there against the Bears. We were right there against the Colts. We were right there against the Titans (obviously). We were right there against the Cowboys. There are no moral victories in the NFL — the season is too damned short — but 12 teams make the playoffs, and not all of them can roll in at 13-3.

Can we win the final two home games, finish off 4-9 Washington and end up a fairly strong 10-6? Any team good enough to win at Philly, at Dallas, at Atlanta and at Carolina should have a chance to do that.

That's how I feel this week, but so much can change. As it has for the Titans, who blew ass in losing their first five games and are now the masters of the thrilling victory. As it has for Jaguars, who lost the the Texans twice, but throttled both Manning brothers, including a destruction of the Colts on Sunday. As it has for Indy, which started 9-0, yet has outscored its opponents by only 3.6 points per game. As it has for the Cowboys, who got booed out of their own building a week reaching the high-water mark in the Parcells era.

Things change in this league. It ain't just the Giants. So I'll keep the faith until the roller-coaster is over. And hope to not wind up puking in my lap.

Other NFL Thoughts:

• I hate Plaxico Burress. He's just not good enough to act like he does. He makes some plays. So does every other NFL receiver. And he finds a new way to piss me off every week. Quitting. Penalties. Showing up Eli. Sunday he dropped a ball (after complaining about not getting it prior) and made us waste a timeout on a challenge, when he should have indicated that he dropped it in the first place.

• FOX showed a stat where Jeff Feagles had the lowest punting average in the league. A meaningless note, I thought, as I know Feagles isn't the NFL's worst punter. In fact, he consistently nails his target, which is right on the sideline. Of course, angling kicks will take some distance off, but almost eliminates the risk of a big return. Through the first 12 games, Feagles punted 53 times and allowed only 22 returns (for 158 yards). Sunday, he punted 9 times and allowed only three returns (for 11 yards). Even more impressive is his ratio of kicks inside the 20 compared to touchbacks. Heading into Sunday, it was 16:3. Last year it was 26:3. Compare that to your punting leaders. FOX just threw up the stat as if it meant something without explanation. Bad job there.

• This note appeared at the end of the Giants-Panthers recap: "The Giants improved to 2-11 in the past three seasons when defensive end Michael Strahan doesn't play." He must be good.

• Through the first 12 weeks, none of the top 30 punters had a punt blocked. Shows ya how good these guys are compared to college, huh?

• LaDainian Thomlinson: 29 touchdowns. Are you fucking kidding me? I've been doing this fantasy football stuff for 15 years. Twenty-nine fucking touchdowns from a running back? Of course, I chose Larry Johnson with my No. 1 pick, which I won't see again for 12 years.

• Terrell Owens topped Mr. Irrelevant's survey of 2006's most-blogged-about sports figures that I contributed to. I still stick with A-Rod (No. 4) as the far-and-away most-blogged-about athlete. There are way more baseball blogs than there are ones dedicated to other American sports. And their content is more intensive, as dictated by a 162-game season and customary statistical arguments.

Andy Pettitte Returns to the Yankees:

This was truly an early Christmas present, and a great surprise upon returning from Jamaica, where I was seriously out of the sports loop. I don't care if he brings his boyfriend, Roger, with him or not. A rotation of Chien-Ming Wang, Pettitte and Mike Mussina should be good enough to complement whatever we get out of Randy Johnson, Carl Pavano and whoever else might get a look (Philip Hughes and Humberto Sanchez?).

We'll hear the same "no pitching" mantra from the haters. We'll hear that the Yankees don't have a "true No. 1," even though Wang finished second in the AL Cy Young voting.

Sixteen million is a lot to pay a guy who isn't a true No. 1, but like many others, Pettitte is worth more to the Yankees than he is to anyone else. He brings headlines, he'll sell merchandise to the chicks, he'll add to the brand. More than, say, Jason Schmidt. Of course, nothing builds the Yankees brand like winning, but there's a track record there, as well.