... December, the New York Giants and Carolina Panthers—the NFC's two top teams in 2008—met on a Sunday night with the No. 1 overall seed on the line. But when the two teams battle on Sunday afternoon, in the Giants' regular season finale at the Meadowlands, only the home team has a playoff spot in sight.

The 8-6 Giants are a game behind Dallas in the wild card race and have the season series in their pocket after a pair of wins over the Cowboys.

Yet it was only last season when New York was the conference's top seed with home field advantage throughout the playoffs and looked primed to defend its Super Bowl title. Then, the Plaxico Burress fiasco left Eli Manning and the Giants offense without a big target, and they were...

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