EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Is it over for the Giants? Were they a one-year wonder?

It sure looks that way.

In seven days, they lost two games -- 28-16 on Monday night at Minnesota and 28-10 on Sunday in front of the home fans at Giants Stadium -- that put them under .500, their season is on the brink of disaster.

QB Kerry Collins and the Giants are falling on their faces. (AP)

"We lose one more, we're dead," said Giants linebacker Jessie Armstead.

Playing in the weak NFC East, that might not be true. As it is, they're in the thick of the division race at 5-6.

Even the 4-6 Cardinals can win it. Philadelphia leads at 6-4, followed by Washington at 5-5. That's the same team that opened 0-5.

"It's not over," said Giants running back Tiki Barber. "What has happened in the division has kept us alive."

But the defending NFC champions have big problems. Among them:

• The offensive line is struggling. The left side, with veterans Lomas Brown and Glenn Parker, simply isn't getting the job done. Has age finally caught up with them? Brown struggled with Oakland defensive end Regan Upshaw, who had two sacks.
• Quarterback Kerry Collins doesn't have the same magic he had during the Super Bowl run last season. He seems far more tentative in the pocket, and the deep ball is almost invisible. He's not getting the ball out on time.
• The secondary has looked bad. Jason Sehorn deserves a game ball for any play on which he's close to the receiver. And rookies Will Allen and William Peterson are struggling. Against both the Vikings and the Raiders, the Giants gave up big passing plays.

So is this team done? Or can they find the magic again?

A year ago, coach Jim Fassel guaranteed his team would make the playoffs when they were 7-4 and coming off an embarrassing home loss to the Lions. This time, there are no guarantees -- only hope.

"Our backs are pressed as far against the wall as I think they can get," said Fassel.

It's the way the Giants have played that is so disturbing. They didn't even offer a fight Sunday. Oakland jumped to a 21-3 lead and was never really threatened.

That's a hint this isn't the same team as last season. The magic appears to be gone.

One-year wonder? You bet.

Prisco's Points

• Never in a million years could anyone have thought the following line would make it into the Points. But here goes: Redskins coach Marty Schottenheimer deserves tons of credit for turning around his team. Washington has won five in a row to get within 1½ games of Philadelphia in the NFC East. They dominated the Eagles offense Sunday while becoming the first team in league history to reach .500 after opening 0-5. In fact, Washington is the best team in the division right now. With a soft schedule down the stretch, the playoffs are a good possibility. Of course, we all know what happens when Schottenheimer gets into the playoffs. For now, though, he deserves his due. Or is it that the players are winning in spite of the coach, much like the Jaguars did to turn their season around in 2000?
• Oakland right tackle Lincoln Kennedy is the best in the league at his position; he mauled Giants end Mike Strahan in the Raiders' victory. A former first-round pick by Atlanta, Kennedy has finally achieved the dominance most envisioned when he came into the league from Washington. Strahan's bull-rush ability was rendered useless against the powerful, 340-pound Kennedy, who should go to his first Pro Bowl this season.
• Don't look now, but there are two very big games on the schedule next week that no one imagined would be in that class before the season. The NFC West-division leading Rams play at the 6-4 Falcons, and the 6-5 Patriots play the AFC East-division leading Jets at Giants Stadium. Big games this late involving the Pats and Falcons? Now we know it's a crazy season.
• Anyone who doesn't think Patriots quarterback Tom Brady is for real now must be related to Drew Bledsoe. Brady threw four touchdown passes against the Saints and put to rest any talk of a quarterback controversy. Bill Belichick made the decision to stay with Brady last week, and it appears to have been the right one. The team rallies around Brady, but that doesn't mean Bledsoe couldn't get the job done, either. There are 20 teams that would love to have him, and somebody will next season.
• Based on the play of the Bengals quarterbacks Sunday, they should call the Patriots right now. Jon Kitna is awful, Scott Mitchell is no better, and Akili Smith must really be bad if he's playing behind those two. Cincinnati's once-promising season is back in the dumps, which brings us to a valuable lesson: You can make improvements all over the field, but if you don't have a quarterback, you can't win in this league on a consistent basis. The shame of it is Cincinnati has one of the NFL's best young receiving groups.
• The Jaguars have blown fourth-quarter leads in three of their past five games. If that's a surprise, it shouldn't be. The team has always had trouble holding onto leads in the fourth quarter. This time, though, heads might roll. The players ripped the defensive scheme after Sunday's loss to the Ravens, in which Baltimore drive 74 yards in 90 seconds for the winning touchdown. The Jaguars used a three-man rush, dropping eight. And then when the Ravens got near the end zone, they blitzed, leaving inexperienced safety Ainsley Battles man-to-man with Shannon Sharpe on the winning pass. Cornerback Aaron Beasley, never one to vocally challenge the coaches, tore into the soft scheme after the game. Fellow cornerback Fernando Bryant also chimed in. "Something has to be adjusted," Bryant said. "If it's the players (then the coaches) should say it's the players. But if it's not the players, then say it's not the players, either." The fact players are speaking out publicly is a message there's big trouble in Jacksonville and that they no longer fear Tom Coughlin. As if losing that way wasn't bad enough, a report came out Monday that Pro Bowl receiver Jimmy Smith had cocaine in his system when he was arrested Nov. 12 for driving under the influence. The state attorney ruled there was not enough evidence to charge Smith with DUI because he was under the legal limit, but a urine test showed cocaine. Smith vehemently denied using the substance, and Coughlin is standing by him. Smith will now be entered into the league's substance-abuse program.
• Steelers quarterback Kordell Stewart is playing with confidence that he hasn't shown in the past. Stewart was 19-of-31 for 254 yards passing and ran eight times for 54 yards as the Steelers beat Tennessee Sunday. The amazing stat: Stewart has thrown 155 passes without an interception. If Stewart can continue to play at this level, the Steelers can win the AFC. The improvement of receiver Plaxico Burress has helped Stewart. Burress had eight catches for 114 yards and a touchdown against the Titans.
• What has happened to the vertical passing game? Teams continue to throw the ball 6 yards and hope like heck a receiver can get a first down. The Eagles are painful to watch -- they flat out refuse to get the ball down the field. As a result, quarterback Donovan McNabb has regressed this season. He's far from the same player he was in 2000 when he was an MVP candidate. McNabb seems to struggle when he's kept in the pocket, something scouts around the league predicted before the season.
• The Colts have lost three in a row and four consecutive at home after falling to the 49ers Sunday. After the game, coach Jim Mora was asked about the playoffs. "Playoffs? Don't talk about playoffs," Mora said. "Are you kidding me? Playoffs? I'm just hoping we can win a game, another game." At 4-6, the Colts would need a miracle against a tough schedule to get into the postseason. If they don't, expect this to be Mora's last year in Indianapolis.
• Something that's getting old in a hurry is the buddy-buddy stuff players now do on the field during games. It's OK to have sportsmanship, and treat opponents with respect, but to laugh and joke and pal around with an opponent after a play is a little disturbing. Shake hands before a game, and certainly after. But this we-are-family attitude that prevails Sunday is not how the game is meant to be played and can't be something coaches like. Fraternizing between plays is something old-time players would have never condoned. It should be the same way now.
• Player of the week Miami quarterback Jay Fiedler. The Dolphins would have been in big trouble had they not beaten the Bills Sunday. Now at 7-3, they're tied for the AFC East lead with the Jets, although the Jets have the tiebreaker edge with a head-to-head sweep. Fiedler, who has struggled with turnovers, threw three fourth-quarter touchdown passes as Miami rallied to beat the Bills 34-27. He was 18-of-31 for 261 yards and, most important, threw no interceptions.
• Flop of the week Colts quarterback Peyton Manning had one of his worst games Sunday, throwing four interceptions, one of which was returned for a touchdown; five Manning passes have been returned for scores. Without Edgerrin James in the backfield, as well as a legitimate second receiving option, Manning is struggling to make plays.
• Assistant coach of the week Browns defensive coordinator Foge Fazio is the kind of coach players love. He can laugh and joke when it calls for it, but he can put his fist down when needed. Fazio's defense recorded the first shutout in Cleveland since the team began playing again in 1999. Without rookie tackle Gerard Warren, who sat out the game serving a one-game suspension, Cleveland beat the Bengals 18-0. Of course, facing the Cincinnati quarterbacks made it a whole lot easier.
• Back to the drawing board What has happened to the Giants defense? A year ago, coordinator John Fox was one of the rising coaches in the league. Now, his defense can't stop anybody. The secondary has played poorly. Sehorn isn't close to being the player he was -- which has led to big plays in the passing game. As a result, the Giants are 5-6 and seem to be headed nowhere, although in the bad NFC East, anything is possible.