NFL

WHAT’S UP: NFC

Take a deep breath and enjoy it Giants fans.

For one week, at least, you actually have some breathing room on top of the NFC East. That can all change with a loss to the Eagles this Sunday night, but thanks to the Giants’ win over the Cowboys and the Redskins’ loss to the Steelers, Big Blue has a 1 ½-game lead over the Redskins two-game advantage over Philadelphia in the division.

WHAT’S UP: NFC (PHOTOS)

The only team in the NFC with fewer than three losses is the NFC-South leading Panthers at 6-2. Carolina was off this week and has two very winnable games against the Raiders and Lions coming up that could put them at 8-2 and in position to battle the Giants for the top spot in the NFC in the season’s stretch-run. The two teams meet in the Meadowlands in Week 16.

The two other division leaders both won this week, but are headed in seemingly opposite directions. The Cardinals (5-3), led by MVP candidate Kurt Warner, laid a whooping on a Rams team that was surging under new coach Jim Haslett. Meanwhile, the Bears (5-3) needed a second-half rally to beat the winless Lions at home and lost QB Kyle Orton in the process. Orton is expected to be out 3-4 weeks with a high ankle sprain and much-maligned Rex Grossman will be filling in.

Both these teams would need to show a lot of improvement to even consider making a run at the 7-1 Giants.

IF THE SEASON ENDED TODAY (seed in parentheses):

Wild-Card Round:

Bucs (6) at Cardinals (3)

Redskins (5) at Bears (4)

Divisional Byes:

Giants (1); Panthers (2)