Giants 37

Cowboys 7

First things first. The Giants yesterday did not beat on the Cowboys because they were inspired by glorious news early in the game that injected life into their playoff chances.

“We just dominated, we got on ’em early and we kept putting it on,” tight end Dan Campbell said.

No, the reports filtering in that the Saints and then the Falcons – rivals in the NFC wild card race – went down to defeat did not greatly affect how the Giants performed in securing a rare 37-7 rout, their most lopsided regular-season victory in more than two years.

By the time members of the Giants defense heard those results, they were ahead 14-0. By the time some of the offensive players glanced up at the Giants Stadium scoreboard and spotted the scores, it was 21-0.

Give the Giants full credit for this pummeling, but give the goings-on elsewhere in the league credit for something else. There are two games remaining and, somehow, some way, the Giants are alive.

“To see it, it gives you that opening, gives you that life, something to shoot for,” Tiki Barber said. “It’s good to know you’re playing for something. You can have all these plans on how we can get in, yada, yada, yada, but if we don’t win these last two games it doesn’t mean anything.”

It means something. That the Giants this weekend head to Indianapolis to face the Colts in a game with tangible playoff implications is somewhat shocking, given how they were left for dead two weeks ago after blowing a 12-point lead in a loss to the Titans. Two wins later, the Giants are 8-6, and although the road leading to the post-season certainly is not paved with gold, it’s no longer barricaded and impassable.

“Stranger things have happened,” Amani Toomer said.

This was an intoxicating day for the Giants. At the start of the game, the situation appeared grim, as the Falcons and Saints had both staged comebacks; the Saints took the lead on the Vikings, the Falcons forced overtime against the Seahawks.

In an instant, those games turned the way the Giants needed them to turn. The Saints lost, then the Falcons fell. Then, in another instant, the Giants took complete control of their own game.

“Obviously, I think this puts us back in the race,” Jim Fassel said. “Doesn’t it?”

It does. Kind of. The Giants still need help from the Saints or Falcons. They got it yesterday, with Fassel keeping abreast of those scores before and during his own game. He called the defense together, then the offense, to inform his players of the good news.

“At some point in time, when you set your goals, you better be able to grab the carrot when it’s sitting right there,” Fassel said, “and I wanted them to know that.”

They knew, but they were too busy dumping on the poor ‘ol Cowboys (5-9), who were inept on offense and looked disinterested on defense.

This utter domination was shades of the 41-0 bombing of the Vikings in the NFC Championship Game two years ago. It also was the biggest rout in Fassel’s six-year coaching tenure, which probably hushes some of that speculation about his job security.

It was 21-0 after one quarter. Barber scored the first touchdown, defensive end Kenny Holmes got the second on a 50-yard fumble return after Micheal Barrow sacked Chad Hutchinson. Barber scooted 60 yards and Ron Dayne got the first of his two touchdowns to complete the first-quarter mauling.

Matt Bryant nailed three field goals and the Cowboys averted the shutout by scoring against the Giants reserves with 1:56 remaining.

“For the first time in a long time we dominated a game from start to finish, and that’s a good feeling to have,” said Barber, who ran for 81 yards and took most of the second half off.

“If we can play the way we played today, we have a good chance of sneaking in the back door,” Michael Strahan said. “It makes the next game mean even more. The key is, we have to keep winning or it does not matter.”

HOW THEY CAN DO IT

The Giants’ playoff hopes got boosts on all fronts yesterday when they routed the Cowboys while the Falcons and Saints lost. Here’s what the Giants need to make the playoffs:

* Wins in their final two games (at Indianapolis, home vs. Philadelphia) while the Saints (at Cincinnati, vs. Carolina) or Falcons (vs. Detroit, at Cleveland) split their final two.

* A win in one of their last two games while the Saints and Falcons each lose their last two.