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Will Giants' song be: "Is that all there is?

Neil Best

8:47 PM EST, December 24, 2005

LANDOVER, Md.

Will Allen stood on the greenish sand of FedEx Field Saturday, trying to explain what went wrong on one of the most dismal days of his career. Just to rub it in, "Hail to the Redskins'' blared from the stands as he spoke, nearly drowning him out.

The worst of it was that the Redskins' perpetually annoying fight song merely was a portent of more ominous music to come for the Giants.

In the next week, thoughts of "Auld Lang Syne'' could come to sound like the theme from "Jaws'' for a team suddenly on the verge of a cliffhanger that could end its season before the end of 2005.

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By blowing a chance to clinch the NFC East title with a 35-20 loss to the Redskins, the Giants guaranteed themselves a meaningful game against the Raiders on New Year's Eve.

And if the Vikings defeat the Ravens Sunday night, the outcome next Saturday night could mean the difference between being in the playoffs or out for the Giants.

That was not what they envisioned when Christmas Eve dawned.

"It's hard to get in the position we were in,'' center Shaun O'Hara said. "To come down here and not take advantage of that, it's inexcusable.''

It was more than just a loss for the visitors; it was a bad loss, lowlighted by the absurd sight of Jeremy Shockey arguing with an official while a Redskin made a key interception behind him. Just as the Redskins and Cowboys narrowed the crack between the Giants and second place, troubling cracks began to show in the division leader's armor as it played its second-worst game of the season and again fell flat on the road.

Take the secondary. For months, Football America has been waiting for what presumably is the weak spot in the Giants' surprising defense to come up flat. Saturday was the day.

Thrice Santana Moss beat Allen, presumably the Giants' most reliable cornerback, for touchdowns, finishing with five catches for 160 yards. To cap the afternoon, Allen cut too far inside trying to stop a run by Clinton Portis, who darted by him for the Redskins' final touchdown.

The Raiders stink, but former Giants quarterback Kerry Collins' major-league arm and receiver Randy Moss give them a puncher's chance against a secondary seemingly and suddenly vulnerable to big plays.

Allen said no one need worry about his mindset. "I'm a corner, dog,'' he said. "Corners have a short memory, or I wouldn't be able to play out there.''

When would he get over it? "It's gone already,'' he said. "I ain't got no choice. It's just what I do, man. There are a lot of responsibilities that come on that island, man.''

Moss scored his first touchdown on a 17-yard wide receiver screen on which he darted past Allen.

On the next, which went for 59 yards, Allen seemed to lose track of the football as Moss made a double move and adjusted to an underthrown deep ball from Mark Brunell. "I was just trying to catch back up \[to Moss\], dude,'' Allen explained.

On the third, which went for 72 yards, Allen said he tried to jump for the ball but miscalculated. He fell down around the 30 as Moss blew by him for the score.

Meanwhile, there appeared to be trouble at the other corner, where Curtis Deloatch eventually gave way to rookie Corey Webster.

With Allen's contract set to expire and Will Peterson's long-term health in question, it is a good bet that cornerback again will be a priority for the Giants in free agency and/or the draft.

The secondary was far from the only concern. The already thin linebacking corps took another hit when Chase Blackburn went down with a neck injury that required him to be removed on a stretcher.